Jesse Rodriguez

Jesse Rodriguez, 95, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2016 in San Antonio. He was born in San Antonio, a 1st Family Member of Bexar County (1718). He was preceded in death by his parents, James Rodriguez & Leonides Valdez; his wife of 22 yrs, Wilma Wilson Thomas; and his 2 sisters, Concha Rodriguez & Isabel McShaffry. He is survived by his three children; Elizabeth (Steve) Jenkerson of Winchester, UK; Jim (Mary K.) Rodriguez; and Bill Rodriguez, both of San Antonio. He is also survived by his 5 grandchildren; Katie (Bill) Hall, Andrew (Anna) Rodriguez, Chad (Kim) Rodriguez, all of San Antonio; Wilma (John) Han of Ft Bragg, NC, & Matthew Jenkerson of London, UK. His survivors also include 3 great grandchildren; Jane & Jamie Hall & Rory Kay Rodriguez.

Jesse graduated from Jefferson High School in 1937 & St. Mary's University in 1941 with a BS in Business. He joined the Navy 3 months before the outbreak of WWII & was commissioned as a Naval Officer. His duty assignments included serving as the CO of the USS APc-20, a Coastal Transport. He met his wife, Wilma, also a Naval Officer, while recovering from a shipboard injury. After the war, he returned to San Antonio to work for his father & uncle at Rodriguez Bros. Memorials. He later entered Civil Service at Kelly AFB in 1963 as an Inventory Unit Supervisor, and retired in 1985.

Jesse was a charter member of the West Side Lions Club serving as Program Director for 45 yrs & Bulletin Co-Editor for 11. He had also served as the Program Chmn of the Alamo Council of Navy League for 11 yrs. Jesse was very proud of his heritage & was very active in genealogy both with the S.A. Genealogical & Historical Society and Los Bexareños, where he helped to put together many genealogy books plus a “how to” guide for beginning genealogists. When his genealogy research took him to the archives of Saltillo, Mexico, he became close friends with many of the archivists south of the border and was instrumental in obtaining a wealth of genealogy information. His friends in Saltillo referred to him as “Mr. Ambassador” for his numerous contributions to genealogy. His recognitions include the Scroll of Honor by the Navy League, a “Hidalgo de Bexar” by Commissioner’s Court, and “Admiral in the Texas Navy” by the Governor.

FUNERAL SERVICES

Visitation will be held at the Angelus Funeral Home on Monday, June 13, 2016 at 5:30 pm followed by a Rosary at 7 pm. Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 11:30 am at St. Pius X Catholic Church, followed by burial with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

In lieu of flowers, contributions are recommended to the Navy League (www.navyleaguesa.org), S.A. Genealogical & Hist. Soc. (www.txsaghs.org), or Los Bexareños (www.losbexarenos.org)