It is with deep sadness that I ask to adjourn tonight’s meeting in memory of Rudy Pavini, a longtime Santa Clarita resident and active member in our senior community.
Rudy was born on September 21, 1934, to Amadeo and Maria Pavini.
Rudy’s parents immigrated to America from Brazil and were originally from Italy.
In his 87 years of life, Rudy was known as a kind, compassionate and big-hearted man who always made it his mission to ensure others felt welcome and cared for.
He was an avid ballroom dancer at the SCV Senior Center, as well as an artist and teacher.
Upon graduating from high school in 1952, Rudy had hopes of beginning a career in art.
However, he enlisted in the US Naval Reserves and was called up to active duty in 1955 to serve on the USS Coral Sea.
During the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, the USS Coral Sea was instrumental in helping Hungarian refugees find safer land away from the war.
That same year, Rudy and the USS Coral Sea were relocated near the Suez Canal to help evacuate Americans fleeing Egypt during Egyptian President Nassar’s rise to power.
Rudy received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1958.
In the 1970s, he and his wife Kathy, along with their four children, moved to Santa Clarita.
The pair taught music, art and drama to students until Kathy’s death in 2005.
That is when Rudy turned his attention to another passion of his – dancing – and met his fiancée Tommie.
Rudy and Tommie were inseparable, whether they were traveling or dancing or going to church on Sundays.
We join in mourning Rudy’s passing and our thoughts are with his family, friends and extended loved ones.