Rodolfo 'Rudy' Sanchez

Rodolfo #8220;Rudy#8221; Sanchez, father, grandfather, and artist died peacefully Tuesday February 5th, 2008, in Bozeman. He was 82 years old, born in Putney, Arizona April 27, 1925 Rudy and Angela Sanchez first visited Bozeman 30 years ago, and decided they had found the perfect spot to retire. The couple immediately felt welcome, and established a large circle of friends. Rudy took an interest in woodcarving in the 1970#8217;s. In Bozeman he began to explore further interests in woodcarving, painting and sculpture. Rudy pursued other mediums through constant research, and tutelage from other artists. He was well respected for his talents and acted as a guest instructor throughout the United States and Canada. Rudy loved to share his passion for carving and sculpting. Rudy#8217;s interest in carving led to the creation of North West Carving Supplies. He operated this business for over 10 years with daughter Lori, and son in law Mike. In 1980, Rudy, along with his daughter Gail and son Ron, renovated the Kessler house on South 9th and launched Casa Sanchez, a popular long running Mexican restaurant in Bozeman. Rudy and Angela relocated to Manhattan, where they opened an antique store. This endeavor gave them the opportunity to travel across Montana and the country to buy antiques and to meet fellow woodcarvers. Rudy#8217;s wanderlust took him to France, where he was able to enjoy the food and wine he loved so much. A return trip with Angela was one of the high points of their life together. After Angela#8217;s death in 1997, Rudy continued to travel, with trips to the Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. To make his travel experience complete, Rudy learned to speak French, Russian and Portuguese. He spent the past 5 winters visiting his daughter Gail and son in-law Max in Florida. He loved the sun, sea, and the casual life style of the beach. In the last few weeks, Rudy completed his most ambitious project, a working miniature carousal. This scale model is decorated with forty hand carved animals, chariots, hundreds of electric lights and accented with gold leaf. The mechanism was all hand made, a tribute to Rudy#8217;s inventive abilities. Over ten years in the making, he was beaming with pride when he was finally able to declare it was finished. With authentic French carousal music playing in the background, he flipped a switch and sent the stunning creation into motion. This closed the final chapter of a long and varied life, which assured he could always entertain friends and family with his real adventure stories. The second of three children born to Basilides and Reyes Sanchez, Rudy grew up in the time of the Great Depression. The untimely death of his father meant further hard times for Rudy, his sister Lupe and his younger brother Pedro #8220;Pete#8221; Sanchez. The iron will of their mother kept the family together, and they endured these hardships. The outbreak of World War II offered young men like Rudy a chance to escape the lingering grips of the depression and travel the world. As soon as he was old enough, Rudy chose to enlist in the Navy. He was disappointed when his request to join the submarine service was rejected. The next best choice was deep-sea diver training. Rudy was transferred to San Diego, where he received his diving certificate after successfully completing the rigorous course. Seaman First Class Rodolfo T. Sanchez was assigned to a seaplane tender, the USS Curtiss AV-4. The Curtiss had already earned the reputation as one of the few ships to get underway during the Pearl Harbor attack. As a crewman on the Curtiss Rudy traveled to Funafuti, Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Saipan, and Guam. After repairs at San Francisco, Curtiss sailed to Okinawa to serve as flagship for Commander, Fleet Air Wing 1. On 21 June, 1945 a kamikaze and its bomb ripped two holes in her hull and exploded on the third deck, killing 35 and wounding 21 of her crew. Rudy enjoyed telling the story of an encounter with Henry Fonda while salvaging another airplane shot down during the same attack. At the end of the war, the Curtiss docked in China and Japan where Rudy saw first hand the horrible toll taken by the years of conflict. Basilides had by now remarried and moved to California with Vincent Chacon. After being discharged, Rudy was reunited with his family in San Jose, where he made his home until moving to Montana. In 1948, Rudy met Angela Gonzales, who had immigrated to California from Wyoming, as part of the wartime westward migration. The couple were married and started a family in 1950. Angela and Rudy raised five children: Vincent, Ronald, Gail, Michael and Lori. Rudy passed on his love of the outdoors to his children through annual camping trips to Yosemite and other locations in the Sierras. He also found time to manage Little League teams, encourage music and dance lessons, and make sure everyone learned some of his skills as a carpenter and all around handyman. Rudy#8217;s own interests led him to study electronics and to become a public works inspector for the County of Santa Clara. Rudy and Angela loved to dance, and became active in the square dance community. Even with all this, Rudy found time to retreat to his workshop to pursue ideas and inventions of all varieties. In 1974 an accident on a job site nearly took his life, and forced an early retirement. Rudy#8217;s incredible will helped him survive and led to an unexpected speedy recovery. Despite the lingering effects of the accident, he was determined to carry on with his life at the same busy pace. Before long he was back on the dance floor or working on a new project. It was at this time Rudy decided to test his artistic skills. After a visit to Bozeman in 1978, Rudy and Angela announced were ready for a quieter life and were moving to Montana. Rudy is survived by his children Lori and Michael Keyshae, Gail and Max Eaton, Vincent and Irina Sanchez, and Ronald and Karen Sanchez. His three grandchildren; Madison and Paris Keyshae and Anastasiya Sanchez were the love of his life. Graveside funeral service, Monday, February 11, 2008, 11:00 AM at Sunset Hills Cemetery, meeting at Dahl Funeral Chapel 10:45 for procession to cemetery. A Celebration of life will follow at 1504 S Rouse, Bozeman, MT Condolences may be sent to the family at www.dahlcares.com