Rod J. Gomez |
| Posted 2009-02-07 by Judy Wight Branson |
| The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona Thursday, December 26, 1996 Tucson engineer Rod J. Gomez is dead at 72 Rod J. Gomez, a Tucson engineer whose firm helped build McKale Center, the Westin La Paloma and other structures around town, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure. He was 72. A native of Jalisco, Mexico, Gomez was 2 when his parents settled in Jerome, Ariz. 25 miles northeast of Prescott, Arizona. 'He said he used to dream of being an architect,' his daughter, Beverly Arriaga, said yesterday. 'He used to see buildings and wish that he could make them.' In 1943, Gomez graduated from high school in Clarkdale and joined the Navy. He was in active duty with the Seabees for three years during World War II. Afterward, Gomez used GI Bill financing to attend the University of Arizona. In 1950, he received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering. He worked as an engineer for several companies before opening Rod Gomez and Associates in 1961. The firm was later called RGA Consulting Engineers. Gomez worked 70 hours a week building up the one-man engineering firm, his daughter said. The firm grew steadily, and by 1980 it had 80 employees in Tucson and 25 in Phoenix. His firm's projects included McKale Center on the UA campus, the Westin La Paloma resort complex, the U.S. Federal Building and La Placita Village downtown. Gomez was elected chairman of the Arizona State Board of Technical Registration in 1979. He was twice named Engineer of the Year by the Arizona Society of Professional Engineers. Gomez believed in giving back to the community, his daughter said, so he sponsored several minority engineering scholarships at UA. He donated to the Boy Scouts and Sisters of the Poor, an organization that raises funds for nursing home residents. 'He never turned anybody away,' said his wife, Evelyn. 'He was a very caring man.' In the late 1980s, a construction industry slowdown caused RGA Consulting Engineers to downsize, his wife said. By 1989, at age 65, Gomez began to plan for retirement, his wife said. The couple closed the firm's doors in 1993, weeks after Gomez suffered a brain hemorrhage. Doctors had not expected him to live, but he awoke from a coma shortly after Thanksgiving, was walking by Christmas and driving again in March. 'His therapists called him The Miracle Man,' Arriaga said. In addition to his wife and daughter Beverly, both of Tucson, he is survived by sons Rod Jr. of Grand Rapids, Mich., Michael of San Diego and Alan of Tucson; daughter Cynthia Smith of Tucson; mother Luz Gomez of Tucson; brothers Ray of Mesa and Joe of Tucson; sisters Lucy Saucedo, Mary Lou Rosalez and Rosalva Gallardo, all of Tucson; 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Bring's Broadway Chapel, 6910 E. Broadway. Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 215 S. Craycroft Road, Tucson, Ariz. Gomez's family said contributions can be made in his name to Casa de Los Niños Crisis Center. |
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