Israel Rodriguez Sr.

Hello everyone! My name is Castulo and I have known the Rodriguez family for a very long time. Sadly, on June 19th, 2025, our beloved Israel Rodriguez Sr. passed away, leaving behind the love of his life, Carmen, as well as his two sons, Israel and Anthony.

Those of us who knew Israel admired the resilience and determination in how he lived his life, the strength to be a pillar and carry upon his shoulders those in need, and the love he had for his family and friends. Above all, Israel was one of the few people I know who truly made a difference in the world. He devoted his life and soul to help the future of young students across Los Angeles. For 24 years, he served as Pepperdine's Financial Aid Director before creating the University's Office of Hispanic Affairs in 1995. His dream was to plant seeds for the future by giving away U.S. Savings Bonds to elementary school students through the Educational Scholarship Fund, which he also created.

Many of us remember how hard he worked to put together the Mariachi Concert every year to raise money for those kids, the countless hours, meetings, and last-minute prayers for everything to go well. And every year, Israel exceeded expectations. In an interview the L.A. Times did on Israel, he said: "The value of the bond itself is not much, but the idea is to get them at an early age to start thinking about college and show them they have the same opportunities as everyone else to go for that brass ring." I can say that many people today can agree that Israel made a difference in those kids' lives.

We all have heard the saying that behind every great man there is a great woman, and in this case, Carmen was greater than a great woman. You need to have a special sense of humor to live next to a man who used to whisper to me in his later years: "You won't believe what happened to me this morning! I woke up next to this beautiful woman who claims to be my wife!" Carmen was Israel's other half because without Carmen, there would not be the Israel we know today. We will keep you informed on times and dates for all of Israel's services.

I want to encourage all of you to share a story of Israel and Carmen if you knew them, help us raise money for the funeral and to help Carmen's financial needs for the following months.