RUDY DE LA GARZA (EA 622)
Rudy De La Garza passed away on August 5, 2018 in New York City after a series of strokes. A native of Tucson, Rudy graduated from Tucson High School in 1960 and received his Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in 1972. You can read his obituary by clicking here. You can also watch an interview Rudy once gave in New York by clicking here.
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| Rudy De La Garza |
7 comments:
The following comment was provided by Jim Berg:
Gosh I loved Rudy. I visited with him twice in nearby Austin before he left for Columbia. Even at UA he was the conscience of EA and then a not so popular subject: Latino affairs.
He was smarter than most of us and never afraid to straighten out our thinking.
RIP..Rudy.
The following comment was provided by Jack Tarr:
RIP, Rudy.
The following comment was provided by Joe Boogaart:
Rudy was very accomplished and special to those of us from my pledge class who will remember him as the one who ruled our Hell Week.
The following comment was provided by Al Lindberg:
You couldn’t help but to really like and respect Rudy for his intellect and humanity which he demonstrated even during his time as our pledge hell week leader. He was the kind of guy I wanted to emulate. RIP Rudy!
The following comment was provided by Jim Berg in response to Bob Shaff's previous comment:
Well said Bob.
What a great life story which I am sure touches all of us with regret that a generation or so after us will not meet their Rudys, their Lyndas and experience their successful lives impacted by fellow fraternal travelers because of a few idiots who took our Chapter down the tubes.
EA has such a legacy. I pray for a miracle to resurrect it for the next Rudy to new, fraternal sow seeds.
The following comment was provided by Bob Shaff:
Rudy De La Garza made a big difference in my life…so much for the BETTER!!
Rudy invited me to a Sigma Nu Fraternity party in Phoenix the summer before my freshman year at UofA in 1961. He introduced me to several brothers, and I was sure that I wanted to rush and to rush Sigma Nu. Rush I did, and got a bid from Sigma Nu. I’m convinced that the only reason I got a bid was that I had good grades in high school, which allowed the brothers to ignore the fact that I was blessed with few social capabilities (I majored in Electrical Engineering).
The first week of school we hosted a Fraternity Open House, where I met a freshman Tri Delta pledge by the name of Lynda Nelson. I returned the favor by attending her “Pledge Presents” the next week at Delta Delta Delta.
I finally got up enough courage to ask Lynda out for our first date, which was a Sigma Nu party on Mt. Lemmon on October 13th, 1961. We rented a bus, picked up our dates on campus, and had a great time with a band and beer.
Lynda and I dated through college, and married 6 years after first meeting. That was 51 years ago, along with 3 great sons, a career in sales and management with IBM, and 6 moves across the country…the last of which was to be the IBM manager for all of IBM’s products and services in southern Arizona, living back in Tucson. After leaving IBM in 1992, I started my own consulting company, Customers for Life Consulting, where I am still active.
I’ve been very blessed in my life. If it wasn’t for Lynda Nelson, none of the above adventures would have happened. If it wasn’t for Rudy De La Garza, I never would have pledged Sigma Nu, and never would have met, married, and loved Lynda Nelson.
THANK YOU, RUDY!! REST IN PEACE!!
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