Rafael V. Rodriguez

Rafael “Papi” Rodriguez Velazquez passed away at the age of 89 on April 6, 2013 in Aurora, IL. He was born on April 8 1923 in San Antonio de Fernandez Jalisco, Mexico. He moved to the U.S. at a very young age. Rafael married Alicia Nuñez Ornelas 70 years ago and had 13 children, 12 survive, Celia (Ezequiel) Vazquez, Rafaela (Miguel) Vazquez, Maria (J.Guadalupe) Aguirre, Antonio (Socorro) Rodriguez, Maria Guadalupe (Luis) Navarro, Socorro (Rosendo) Burciaga, Jose de Jesus (Carolina) Rodriguez, Rafael (Maria) Rodriguez, Virginia (Martin) Bonales, Jose (Virginia) Rodriguez, Aurora (Miguel) Nuñez, Alicia (Sergio) Jimenez. He is also survived by his 49 grandkids, 67 great grand kids, 3 great great grand kids, 1 brother and 5 sisters (Rodolfo, Lupe “grande”, Lupe “chica”, Juanita, Micaela and Cuca) and many more nieces and nephews. He was preceded by 1 son Rafael Rodriguez and 2 brothers Moises and Jesus Rodriguez. “Papi” was more than just a father or a grandpa he was the pillar of our family. He was a man of few words but his smile said it all and his love for life was contagious. It broke our hearts to lose him but he will always be remembered as a strong family man. We cry today for his loss but we smile because we know one day we will see him again. “Papi” you will always live in our hearts. We would like to give a special thanks to his Doctors who did everything they could throughout the years to keep him as healthy as possible. Dr.Leung, Dr. Mirza, Dr. Hussain, Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Dodhia, Dr. Fakhruddin, Dr. Haleem and to Danielle B. Alice the Chief of Staff at Rush Copley Medical Center for doing everything you could to accommodate all of us. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 10, 2013 from THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY at 9:30 AM to St. Mary Church at 10:00 AM. Fr. Timothy Piasecki and Fr. David Engbarth will officiate with entombment in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Visitation will be held Tuesday, April 9, 2013 from 2:00 PM until 8:00 PM, with a Liturgical Wake Service at 5:30 PM, at THE DALEIDEN MORTUARY, 220 N. Lake St., Aurora, IL 60506, 630-631-5500. Please visit our interactive website at www.daleidenmortuary.com to leave condolences for Rafael’s family or to sign the guestbook.

Rafael V. Rodriguez

April 8, 1923 - April 6, 2013