OBITUARY – Dr. Rodolfo Canales

MISSION – Rodolfo “Rudy” Canales, D.D.S., passed away on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2018, at Doctor’s Hospital in Edinburg.

Dr. Canales was born on July 12, 1931, in Falfurrias, attended Falfurrias High School and joined the Air Force in June, 1949, and served as a radio operator with the 86th Fighter Bomber Group in Munich, Germany. After his military service he worked at the U.S. Post Office as a clerk in Houston. In 1953, he attended the University of Houston for his pre-dental training and was accepted to the University of Texas dental school in Houston in 1955 where he received his degree. He began his dental practice in Roma in 1960 where he met his wife, Elva Saenz-Canales. They moved to Mission in 1962, and he continued his dental career until his retirement in 2007.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Maria Martinez Canales and Adolfo Canales, and brothers, Jose Ignacio Canales and Tomas Canales.

Survivors include his wife, Elva; children, Marlon Canales, Dr. Tomas Canales and Dr. Layra Canales-Flores; and 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 11:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mission. Burial follows at Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission.