George L. Rodriguez

1924 - 2007

George L. Rodriguez fought a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007, to join his wife and heavenly family. He was surrounded by his loving family and his two precious dogs, Lady and Moe.
Funeral: 10 a.m. Tuesday at St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church of Arlington. Burial: Moore Memorial Gardens in Arlington. Visitation: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Arlington Funeral Home.
Pallbearers: George Rodriguez Jr., Glenn Rodriguez, Devin Rodriguez, Jeffrey Rodriguez, George VanDyke III, Gregory Van Dyke, Wally Martin III and George Moore.
Honorary pallbearers: Cordell Rodriguez, Josh VanDyke, Brandon VanDyke and Blake VanDyke and Steve Campbell.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Cancer Center, the American Diabetes Association or Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN).
George was born in Tampa, Fla., on Sept. 2, 1924, to Graciela Leirana and Julio Rodriguez and was the middle of three sons. He was inducted into the Army while in high school and served his country overseas in World War II as a sergeant in Company C, 1274th Combat Engineer Battalion, 7th Army in France.
After the war, George married his childhood sweetheart, Olga Alicia Carbonell, and was married for 52 years. He graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in mechanical engineering and began working for Bell Helicopter in Buffalo, N.Y. He moved to Arlington when Bell opened its Hurst plant in 1952 and earned his master's in engineering from SMU while working fulltime.
In 1987, George retired from Bell Helicopter as manager over all engineering laboratories after 37 years of service. He was a member of the Registered Board of Professional Engineers.
George spent his retirement years between his home in Arlington, his lake house at Cedar Creek, where he loved boating, fishing and spending time with family and friends. George loved traveling with his wife and kids, cooking Spanish cuisine, and had a great appreciation for music and wine.
George was a loving, devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather dedicated to his family of whom he was so very proud. He was very proud of his Spanish heritage and was generous in supporting the disadvantaged.
George was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Olga Rodriguez, in 1999 and his mother, Graciela Leirana, in 1999.
Survivors: Sons, Glenn Rodriguez and wife, Debra, George Rodriguez Jr.; daughters, Sandra B. Van Dyke, Cindy Pair and husband, Michael; brother, Antonio Rodriguez of Tampa, Fla.; grandchildren, George VanDyke III and wife, Lori, Dr. Gregory Van Dyke, Audra Fulton, Erin Clark and husband, Gino, Devin Rodriguez, Jeffrey Rodriguez, Cordell Rodriguez and Nicole Rodriguez; great-grandchildren, Josh VanDyke, Brandon VanDyke, Blake VanDyke, Kylie Clark and Ashton Clark.