Person Record
Images
Metadata
Name |
Rodriguez, Arturo |
Othernames |
Arturo Rodriguez Jr., Art Rodriguez |
Born |
03/30/1938 |
Birthplace |
Uvalde, Texas |
Places of residence |
Crystal City, San Antonio, Carrizo Springs, Texas |
Father |
Arturo Rodriguez |
Mother |
Hortencia Talavera |
Notes |
Arturo Rodriguez Jr. was born March 30, 1938 in Uvalde, Texas to Arturo and Hortencia Rodriguez. A veteran of the Marine Corps, he served three years with the Sheriff's Department and Police Department in his hometown of Uvalde, as the first Hispanic Deputy Sheriff. He joined the Texas DPS as a highway patrolman in 1967. Based in Crystal City with the DPS, Rodriguez was appointed to the Texas Rangers in 1969, the first Mexican American in more than half a century to be named to the elite force. The assignment with the Rangers had him working out of Crystal City and San Antonio, in Company D. In DPS and in law enforcement, he would face racial prejudice, which would figure into his decision to leave the force. He left the Rangers to join the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration in 1974. His 14 years with the federal agency took him to Aruba, Mexico City, and Mississippi, where he helped bring down the Dixie Mafia. Rodriguez opened a sports bar, "The Rangers Outpost", in Kirby. He remarried after the death of his first wife, Lily, in 1996. He passed away on Sept. 8, 2007 and is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas. |
Occupation |
US Marine Corps 1958-1964 Uvalde PD/SO 1964-1967 Texas Highway Patrol 1967-1969 Texas Ranger 1969-1974 Federal Drug Enforcement Administration 1974-1986 |
Publications |
Rodriguez . . . Texas Ranger!: The True Story of the First Mexican American Texas Ranger by Rick Harper |
Spouse |
Lily Sena Rodriguez, Olga |
Deceased |
09/08/2007 |
Deceased where |
San Jose, Costa Rica |
