Rodolpho “Rudy” Silva, Jr. and students.

When Rodolfo “Rudy” Silva, Jr. passed away in May 2002, the Weslaco Independent School District not only lost a devoted educator, but also a friend who had dedicated 35 years to making sure students in South Texas got the best education possible.

For many students and teachers at Cleckler-Heald Elementary, where Silva served as principal for seven years, he will always be remembered as someone who ran a first-class organization and did so with a big smile – a smile that greeted students and parents every morning at 7:30 a.m. sharp to start the school day.

His enthusiasm and the love Silva had for his students, teachers and parents were what prompted the Robert A. and Margaret Looney McAllen family, one of the Rio Grande Valley’s founding families, to establish the Rodolfo “Rudy” Silva, Jr. Endowed Scholarship benefiting students in the College of Education at The University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg.

Margaret McAllen, who donated $70,000 on behalf of her family to initiate the Long Term Fund endowed scholarship in 2002, said they had the opportunity to know Silva when he was principal to their own children.

“Rudy Silva was an educator, humanitarian, scholar, and a gentleman. He was encouraging and inspiring to students and to the parents as well,” said McAllen at the announcement of their donation. “With this endowment we hope to encourage other students to go into education. We hope some of this great man’s qualities will be passed on to future students.”

“My husband wanted to help students find money for college, to tap into resources that would get them through school,” she said. “Isn’t it beautiful that this is exactly what this does?”

Silva, a UTPA alumnus who earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from then-Pan American University, was the first in his family to graduate from college. Born Sept. 1, 1944 in Donna, Texas, he learned from his parents, Rodolfo and Maria, that an education and hard work were the keys to opportunities in life.

In another tribute, the Weslaco ISD named a new elementary school after him in May 2003. The House of Representatives of the 78th Legislature commemorated the dedication of the Rodolfo “Rudy” Silva, Jr. Elementary School and extolled his devotion to Valley residents with a House resolution stating “For more than 3-1/2 decades, Rudy Silva demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the children of the Weslaco Independent School District, and his loving nature and generosity will surely live on in the hearts and minds of all those whose lives he touched.”

His legacy will also live on through the Rodolfo “Rudy” Silva, Jr. Endowed Scholarship for UTPA students who honor his memory by passionately embracing his and the McAllen family’s mission to foster a quality education for all South Texas children.