106 years old, Rudy Calderón died on September 11th, 2022, at his home in Pacoima surrounded by family. He was born on March 13, 1916, in Mazatlán, Mexico, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona as a child. Rudy grew up with 3 younger brothers, Bob, Alex, and Manuel. He came of age with a friendly personality. From two previous marriages, Rudy fathered 4 sons, Ernesto, Rudy Jr, Alphonso, and Paul, before meeting and marrying Lucy Estrada in 1943. He was a private in the Signal Corps during World War II, and after the war, in 1945, they had twins, Stephen and Annie, and moved to California. Rudy opened his first shoe repair shop at 42nd and Hoover. They lived nearby until moving into Roger Young Village, a government housing project for veterans in Griffith Park. In 1952, he moved the Calderón Shoe Clinic to Van Nuys Blvd. and moved into a house in Pacoima with Lucy. In addition to the twins, they raised seven more children, Christy, Kathy, Rick, Chuck, John, Daniel, and Vincent.
Rudy was devoted to his community and was a founding member of Mary Immaculate Catholic Church and Latin America Civic Association (LACA). He was a member of the Mission Knights of Columbus, San Fernando for more than 50 years and for over 40 years, he opened his home up to be used as a county polling location. A member of the Pacoima Chamber of Commerce, he and Lucy participated in many local events. He loved to travel and visited many places, including China, Europe, Canada, and Mexico, along with traveling across the US. In his RV, he drove to Alaska twice on the Alaska Highway. Rudy had 29 grandchildren, and 22 great grandchildren. We will celebrate his life and memory through the ages!