Brian Rene Rodriguez

February 24, 1964 ~ March 4, 2017 (age 53)

Our beloved Brian Rene Rodriguez passed from mortal life into eternity on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in Lafayette, Colorado, surrounded by family members. He was born February 24, 1964, in Los Gatos, California, to Joyce and Raul Rodriguez, the fifth of eight children, who were joined by two adopted cousins later. He attended schools in Hayward, California, and in Provo, Utah, and graduated from Timpview High School. After high school, Brian joined the Utah National Guard, serving for a time as a psychiatric technician, and later transferring to the 23rd Army Band, where he served for about 12 years. He thoroughly enjoyed his time playing the trombone in the Band, going on several tours throughout the country and to France. He took a leave of absence from the Guard to serve an LDS mission in Paris, France; he married his high school sweetheart, Diane Talbot, when he returned. He later graduated from Brigham Young University in mechanical engineering. He worked for computer companies in Boise, Idaho and in the Denver, Colorado, area as a software engineer. His most recent employment was at Trimble Navigation near Denver, Colorado.

Brian had five beautiful and intelligent children with Diane, and he enjoyed taking his family on hikes and camping trips, and sharing his love of music, languages, and science with them. After more than 20 years of marriage, they were divorced.

Brian met Deydamia Granados at work, and he soon began to form a deeper bond with her. Daydee was a hard-working, bright, and lively Peruvian lady, and he was quite taken with her. They were married in 2008. For a number of years, they worked hard together, renovating his house and working on various family business ventures. We are very grateful to Daydee for lovingly and diligently taking care of Brian during his months of struggle with a rare form of kidney cancer, which had quickly spread throughout his body.

Brian had an inquisitive mind, and he had a need to constantly be learning and exploring. He delved deep into a subject, then once his curiosity was satisfied, he moved to the next. In this way, he studied languages—Russian, French, and Mandarin Chinese. He even taught himself Braille. He studied math, science, and computer languages as well. He learned to play any instrument he touched, including trumpet, trombone, French horn, guitar, and flute.

Of all these diverse interests, one that was a constant for him was his love of music. When he was growing up, his house was filled with singing, with instruments playing, and with the Beatles being played on the record player. Fun for his family was one person starting a song and immediately being surrounded by others joining in in 4-part harmony, or playing trumpet/trombone duets with his older brother Ron. Brian’s love of music carried over into his own household as well, and his children learned to play a variety of instruments and sing together.

Brian’s restlessness carried over into his spiritual life as well. As he yearned for more knowledge, he left his Christian faith for a time to embark on an extensive search for spirituality. He studied different philosophies and religions in depth, but it wasn’t until his wife Deydamia bought him a Bible to help restore his faith that he turned to Christ once more, and, just before he passed, was baptized in his hospital room into the Christian Orthodox church.

Brian is survived by his mother; sisters Yolanda (Bruce) Degler, Michelle (Ryan) Jones, Yvette (Sheffer) Clark, Jeannette Rodriguez (Barry); brothers Joel (Jan), Ron (Phyllis), Josh (Laurie) and Ben (Penny). His children are Julie Rodriguez (Soren), Aimee Rodriguez (Leland), Sarah Rodriguez, Steven Rodriguez, and Joey (Iver) Rodriguez, and his stepson, Ron Granados (Christina). He also has three grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, and by his sister, Linette (Monty) Sitake.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:

The Viewing/Celebration of Life will be on Friday, March 10, from 6 to 9 p.m. (Viewing 6-7, Service 7-8:30, light refreshments 8:30-9) at 1051 East 200 North in Orem, Utah.

The Funeral will be on Saturday, March 11, from 10 to 11 a.m. at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church at 355 S 300 East in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The graveside service will immediately follow at the Highland City Cemetery at 6200 West 11000 North in Highland, Utah.

We want to invite everyone who would like to come and celebrate his life with us and say their good-byes to join us for any or all of these services.