It was a sweet gesture Father Ramon Valera made at the beginning of the memorial service for 99-year-old Raul (Rod) Rodriquez at Mission Hills Catholic Mortuary recently.
The priest looked out at the 100 or so people seated in the crowded chapel, and knew exactly what they were thinking. Ninety-nine. Oh, so close to 100. If only.
Father Valera smiled and with the power vested in him from a much higher authority, he gave Rod Rodriguez the divine intervention he needed to reach the century mark.
“You know when something costs $0.99 cents and sometimes you just give them a $1.00?” the priest said. “I think we can just give this $1.00 to him.”
Father Valera was rounding out Rod’s 99 years to an even 100. Keep the change. Everyone laughed. Rod would have laughed the hardest.
He was the Mr. Rogers/Will Rogers of Jellico Avenue in Granada Hills — a man who always made you feel like the most important person in the room, and always left you with a laugh and a good feeling inside.
He and his late wife, Val — the beautiful, movie booth ticket girl he fell in love with and was married to for 61 years — were godparents to more than 30 children. Thirty. You don’t get that kind of trust and respect without earning it.
“He was a man who stood apart from our frenzied time through his values, decency, respect and discipline,” said Fran Pikhart, who lived across the street from Rod for 38 years.
“He never rushed, never was short-tempered. He was always manicured, dressed in slacks and a button down shirt. I think his first ever ‘pajama day’ was about age 95.”
Times were tough everywhere when Rod was growing up during the Great Depression. The San Fernando Valley was no different. As a boy, he shared one room with four sisters, and his packed lunch for school was too often saltine crackers, said his nephew Dan Somerville.
“With church on Sunday, bath night was on Saturday. He told me the whole family would share the outdoor tub, and he always…
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