Rudolph "Rudy" Araujo, of Springfield, MO, passed away at the age of 76, in the early morning hours of August 30, 2016.

Family and friends will gather to celebrate his life at 6pm, Saturday, September 10th, at The Way Community Church, 903 W. Katella St, Springfield, MO.

Rudy was born July 8th, 1940, in Albuquerque, NM, to Ralph Araujo and Clara Garcia. He graduated from Cathedral High School in 1958.

He proudly served in the US Navy from 1959-1963. On October 5th, 1962, Rudy married the former Sandra Ruelle. Together they raised three children. Rudy had a few different jobs in his life but the most recent was owner/operator of a pool maintenance business in Lake Elsinore, CA, where he lived the majority of his life. He loved to work with his hands and made fun and useful gadgets for around the house. He loved books and he read on all sorts of subjects. He read the newspaper every day, at his favorite donut shop and kept up with the latest in the world. One of his biggest passions was riding his ATC's. He would take trips to Glamis every chance he got. Rudy was very generous and loved to give gifts to people but the best gift you could give him, were pictures of his family and friends.

Rudy is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sandy Araujo; his son, Joe Araujo and daughter-in-law, Charity of Salem, OR; his daughter, Pam Whitcomb and son-in-law Bob McElwain of Springfield, MO; his youngest daughter, Lisa Araujo and son-in-law Danny Tice of Las Vegas, NV; son-in-law Joe Whitcomb and daughter-in-law Kandace Nicassio; his five grandchildren, Trevor, Moriah, Melanie, Ava, and Nyka; his four great-grandchildren, Mischa, Asher, Gracie, and Madison; his sister, Carmen Medrano of Houston, TX and her children Al, Clarie, Yvonne, and Richard; his baby sister Annette Perez and her children Jessica and Felipe and many nephews and nieces, cousins, and his Aunt Beatrice of Albuquerque, NM.