Phillip Ralph Rodriguez passed-away peacefully at home on August 6, 2022, surrounded by those that loved him with every ounce of their hearts. Phillip (Phil), as he was known to all of his college and work friends, or Ralph, as he was known to his family and high school friends, had lived a great life. He was born Feb 5, 1952 in a small house in Edinburg, Texas, to Martin and Eduarda (Lala) Rodriguez. He spent his early years traveling with his family as migrant workers, going from state to state, harvesting cotton, strawberries, hops and numerous other crops until his family permanently settled in Granger, WA. Ralph never had a word of complaint about all the hard work he and his family did while being migrant workers, even while living in some rough places. While life may have been a little hard, the family stayed strong, and his parents always made wherever they lived feel like home. They always had fun stories of every place they lived, and in later years, Ralph’s most joyous occasions were when the family got together to share laughter and tell stories of the old days working in the fields. Ralph graduated from Granger High School in 1971, in a small class of about 71 students, and had become lifelong friends with his classmates and upper classmates. When Ralph got together with these old friends, it was like going back in time. They would tell stories and laugh and laugh. These gatherings were the summer events that he looked forward to the most. While in high school, as he drove around Granger, he passed this little house with, as he put it, “a cute little girl sitting on her porch with her dog.” That little girl was me, with my best dog, Buster. At the end of the school year in 1970, I asked him to sign my annual; he wrote, “Hi Nancy, well, bye now,” and I liked him right away. In the fall of 1970 while at a school dance, Ralph walked up to me and asked if I would like to go for a ride with him. I said yes. We sat in that truck and when he held my hand, I fell in love and knew he was going to be my husband. I was 15. He told me the same thing a few years later, that he knew right then that he was going to marry me. In 1975, Ralph and I married twice--once in a court house on June 14, 1975, and then in my grandparents church in Grandview, WA on Nov 1, 1975. We went on to have 2 beautiful children, Amanda and David, both of Seattle, WA, and took in 2 other boys who became like our sons, Christopher Rimbey of Wenatchee, WA, and Justin Pounds of Washington, Indiana. Ralph and I lived in many houses in the Seattle area, collecting so many wonderful memories, until we settled down in Auburn, WA, where we made a beautiful home, and never left. He would always say, “I love our house.” After high school, now known as Phil (he had NO idea his name was Phillip until he enrolled in college), he attended Yakima Valley College for 1 year, then enrolled at the University of Washington, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. While at UW, he worked at the cafeteria, making hamburgers which he proudly proclaimed “the BEST burgers on campus.” He also took a job at a cigar stand in Pioneer Square, selling sandwiches, newspapers, magazines and, of course, cigars and cigarettes. It was one of his favorite jobs, a “no-brainer” job, as he would say. He also worked at Pacific NW Bell as a phone operator. After graduating, Phil took a job at SER Jobs for Progress and he co-researched, wrote, published and even illustrated a report/book about migrant workers entitled Drought Impact Study. He was very proud of this work. He then went to work for the City of Seattle, where he met his then mentor, who encouraged him to get his Master’s degree and start his own company. In 1979, he enrolled in Fort Wright College and attended classes at Heritage University in Toppenish, WA, traveling by Greyhound bus every Friday and coming home on Sunday evening, all the while working full time for the City of Seattle. In 1981, Phil graduated with a Master’s Degree in Education, Guidance and Counseling. In the fall of 1981, Phil and I started our business, NW Development Services where he was a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, working most of the time out of a small room in our garage, eventually renting office space and then converting our garage into a nice big office, where he stayed until 2005. Owning his own business gave him the freedom to coach his kids’ soccer and baseball teams, which he LOVED doing. In 2005, he was asked to interview at a company that worked with Boeing workers and they made him an offer he could not refuse. In May of 2005, he went to work for I.A.M. Crest as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, where he was a valued member of the Aerospace Machinist Union, until his retirement in August of 2019. He LOVED his job and his clients, but most of all, he LOVED his co-workers. They always made him feel cared for, respected, and admired, which he always appreciated and never took for granted. Ralph’s favorite hobby was painting. He painted four pictures: two he gave to his sisters (of which we made copies) and two for me. One was a likeness of a Thomas Kincade painting, where he put his own personal extras, our dogs, our daughters one-eyed teddy bear called “Suzy,” our initials “PR loves NR” on the big tree in the front yard, and our kids’ hand-prints, along with so many other personal touches. It always has been one of my most cherished pieces of art. Ralph loved listening to his oldies music, spending hours making cassette tapes from the hundreds of records we owned that he would title “Ralph’s Favorite Songs.” He loved spending time, just the two of us, taking road trips, taking selfies, sitting together watching our favorite TV shows and falling asleep. He loved to sit outside on our deck, watching the planes fly overhead in wonderment, trying to guess where in the world the planes were flying to, and wishing we were on them. He was such a gentleman, always opening the car door for me, making sure we were both covered under an umbrella when it was raining, although he walked too slow so I’d take off running to the door. We held hands all of the time, he gave wonderful, tight hugs, and we loved each other more and more every day. We were together for 52 years 1970 to 2022. I miss him so much. Ralph suffered from kidney disease, and started dialysis in 2016. Ralph suffered a traumatic episode while in surgery in 2018 which resulted in some neurological damage. He developed Vascular Dementia which caused short-term memory loss, which was hard to deal with and affected so much of his life. It was with such sadness to see this wonderful man struggle. Even so, his long-term memory remained intact, and his face would light up anytime he told a story of the old days working in the fields, or of him and his friends high school antics, or of our many wonderful years together. Phillip Ralph Rodriguez is survived by his wife Nancy, and his two children, Amanda and David of Seattle, who he was so proud of and loved having deep discussions with, even when they didn’t always agree. He is also survived by 3 siblings, Yolanda, Ofelia and Hildo. He was preceded in death by his parents, Martin & Lala, his brother Martin Jr., and sister Maryann, and by one of his very best friends, Vance Norwood, of whom all were deeply loved, and sorely missed. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to either Alzheimer’s Association or NW Kidney Foundation. David, Amanda and I would like to thank all the people down at Auburn Kidney Center for taking such good care of Ralph (Phil), treating him with kindness and compassion, and for doing everything they could to make these last few years manageable. Funeral Services will be September 10, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at Yahn Funeral Home, 55 West Valley Hwy, Auburn, WA.