February 10, 1930 - July 16, 1986

From the Daily Republic

One of 13 children born to immigrant parents who spoke only Spanish, Angelo Rodriguez became an authority on the English language. The Vacaville native grew up working on fruit farms, earned history and English degrees and a teaching credential at UC Berkeley, and a master’s in English at the University of Pacific in Stockton.

Rodriguez taught at Armijo High School, moving to Fairfield High when the school opened in 1965. There he stayed for 21 years, including 18 as chairman of the English Department, until his untimely death in July 1986.

Rodriguez drowned off the coast of Gandia, Spain. His wife Elizabeth wrote of his death in a 1999 letter urging the school board to name its new high school after her late husband:

“Two total strangers, French youngster of around 2 or 3, went out too far in the Mediterranean in their floating devices, and Angelo set out to save them,” she wrote. “The children lived but Angelo died.”

To honor his legacy, the School Board named the new campus Angelo Rodriguez High School, known more commonly as Rodriguez High.

https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/SOLANO-COUNTY-High-School-to-Be-Named-For-2899639.php