REYES, Rogelio (Dr.)

Arizona Silver Belt, Globe, AZ Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Dr. Rogelio Reyes passed away on March 31, 2011 in San Diego, Calif. He was born July 14, 1931 in a small mining town in southern Arizona. Rogelio was a Harvard educated liguistics professor at San Diego State University. He was well traveled and fluent in 27 languages. He received his doctorate’s degree from Harvard and also received degrees in Croatia, Italy, and Mexico. Rogelio was also a U.S. Air Force veteran, and was known for his organization of a series of presentations on the contributions and sacrafices made by Latinos and Latinas during and after World War II, while the coordinator of the Southern California Defend The Honor. He was considered by many as “a respected and fearless leader whose teachings and community organizing activities went beyond the classroom into the international arena speaking out for the rights of immigrants.” In 2007, Reyes, received the Monty Award for Outstanding Faculty. The staff with whom he worked described him as a talented, involved and caring colleague, a very talented linguist, and almost irreplaceable. Reyes frequently hosted rallies or activities focused on human and immigrant rights, similar to activist Cesar Chavez, who he knew at one point in his life. Just weeks before his passing, he was placing boxes around the university campus as part of a clothes drive. A Celebration of Life ceremony was held for Reyes at San Diego State University on April 27, 2011.