Thomas Rodriguez

Thomas “Tom” Rodriguez, beloved father, longtime Hispanic community activist, historian, and author, passed away March 2, 2024 at age 83 in Henderson, NV. Thomas was born October 6, 1940 in Topeka, KS, the second of four sons born to Joseph Rodriguez and Jennie Gomez Rodriguez. Thomas attended Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic grade school (1947-53) and graduated from Topeka High School (1958).

After high school, Thomas proudly served in the U.S. Army from 1962-65, stationed in Alaska and Louisiana. After Thomas received an honorable discharge, he enrolled at Washburn Univ. in Topeka, graduating in 1972 with a B.A. in Psychology. Thomas then earned a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the Univ. of Kansas in 1978 and worked on his PhD in Political Science before moving to Nevada.

In Kansas, Thomas served as Executive Director of Topeka’s SER-Jobs for Progress program, Kansas’s first employment/training program targeting Topeka’s low-income Hispanic population. He expanded the program into Garden City, Wichita, and Kansas City, KS. Thomas later worked as Chief of Program Operations and Chief Planner for the Topeka-Shawnee County Department of Labor Services. Thomas was a proud Kansan and cherished his memories of living in Topeka.

Thomas moved to Las Vegas in 1981 and worked as the Director of Planning and Evaluation for the Las Vegas Clark County Consortium. He became Senior Management Analyst for the Clark County Manager’s Office in 1986, managing the emerging cable TV industry and helping modernize the Justice Court system in outlying areas of Clark County. In 1989, Thomas became the first Executive Manager for Diversity and Affirmative Action Programs with the Clark County School District. Thomas retired in 2013 after serving CCSD for 23 years.

Of his many achievements, Thomas’s most enduring legacy began in 1993, when he and Dr. Maria Chairez co-founded the Latino Youth Leadership Conference, which provides mentorship and leadership training to nearly 100 Hispanic high school students every summer. The program recently celebrated 30 years of operation and has helped improve the lives of thousands of Hispanic youths.

Thomas’s Hispanic activism in Nevada includes his many writings, including the books A Profile of Hispanics in Nevada: An Agenda for Action (1984); A History of the Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada: 1976-1979 (1989); Hispanic Profiles in Nevada History: 1829-1991 (1991)(a joint effort with Dr. M. L. Miranda); and A Profile of Hispanics in the State of Nevada: An Agenda for Progress (1997). His last book, Raising Hell and Making A Difference (2014), details his forty years of activism in Nevada. Thomas also wrote an autobiography about his life in Kansas titled Americano: My Journey To The Dream (2004) and a historical photo book titled The Bottoms: A Place We Once Called Home (2012), about his childhood neighborhood in Topeka.

Because of his tremendous contributions to Nevada’s Hispanic community, Thomas was honored by having a street named after him in 2022. Tom Rodriguez Street is located at the UnCommons district near South Durango Drive and the 215.

Thomas was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Michael, John and Richard, and former wife Anne Moriarty. Thomas is succeeded by ex-wives, Doris Rosario-Martinez and Nora Mirabal; his children Michael Mendez, David Soto, Darren Thomas Rodriguez (Brittany Dimang), Alexis-Havana Rodriguez and Lyla-Nour Saab; sisters-in-law Peggy Rodriguez, Sarin Rodriguez and Monica Rodriguez; uncle Augustine "Blacky" Gomez; grandchildren Nichol Mendez, Aries Soto and Amina Dimang; nieces Rochelle Grill, Yvonne Rodriguez and Laraine Rodriguez; and nephews Christopher Niles Rodriguez, Joseph Rodriguez, Nicholas Estrada and Lance Rodriguez.

Thomas’s legacy can be honored by contributions to the Tom Rodriguez Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund (for details contact the UNLV Foundation at [email protected] or (702) 895-3641) or to The Thomas Rodriguez Foundation (donations accepted at GoFundMe).

A memorial visitation for Thomas will be held Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89123, followed by a memorial service from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.