Kern County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....Felix Rodriguez, Mary July 3 2004 ********************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/obits/obitsca/obitsca.htm ********************************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: K Taylor bluewolf@onemain.com July 7, 2004, 3:40 am The Bakersfield Californian Mary Felix Rodriguez 6/12/1914 7/03/2004 Mary Felix Rodriguez was born June 12, 1914 in the state of Arizona. Her parents were Geronimo Felix and Concha Sevedo-Felix. Geronimo was a high ranking officer in the forces of Presidente Francisco Madero. Poncho Villa, Pascual Orozco & Emiliano Zapata also were supporters of Madero. Geronimo was a descendent of the Irish Soldiers that came Mexico in the U.S.Mexico War (1845-1846). This accounted for the fair skin, red hair and blue eyes that was so prominent in his genetic make-up, and which he passed along to his daughter, Mary. Mary was the apple of Geronimos eye and they had an extremely close relationship. There were other children in the Felix Family a brother, Jose and two sisters. Geronimo was a gold and silver smith following his time of service in Maderos Revolution. An unfortunate incident changed the happy family and Marys idyllic and peaceful childhood. Father Felix disappears from the pages of Marys History as well as her siblings. Her life then became a classic tragedy. She grieved the loss of her beloved father the rest of her days and often wished she could have found her siblings. Mary loved to read and often found solace in the stories. She was a hard worker and with her husband John Rodriguez and her children, worked in the agricultural fields of the west. Their large family was often in demand because they were such good workers. John also worked on the railroads. These jobs took them to many different locations, as is attested by the variety of locations of their childrens birth. They eventually settled in Bakersfield where Mary eventually became acquainted with Elder Carlos Bendrel, pastor of the Bakersfield Spanish Church. Studies soon led to baptism and eventually the Adventist message was shared with the voluminous family. At one time Mary and her family formed a large portion of the church membership. Following the death of John Rodriguez, Mary was challenged with raising the family alone. She vowed that she would never marry again. The older members of the family were very supportive and helped out as they could, Fred and Angel even agreed to take the youngest daughter Nancy into their home in order to allow Mary to be able to concentrate on raising the other children still at home. Eventually, she too moved in with Fred and Angel. Mary was never one to rely on public assistance. She was willing to work hard to provide for the family and eventually she became a counselor for Child Protective Services, training families in how to care for and raise their children. She was honored as the first Mexican-American to work in this agency in Bakersfield. Show worked for CPS until her retirement in 1984. She was in relatively good health until the last few years of her life. She went to rest July 3, 2004, on the Sabbath she loved so much and is now resting anticipation the upward call of Jesus Christ. A memorial service was held Tuesday, July 6, 2004 at Hillcrest Seventh-day Adventist Church. Additional Comments: Volunteer submission - No relation to deceased. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/kern/obits/gob574felixrod.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/caobfiles/ File size: 3.7 Kb