Rudy Gonzales, who handpainted signs large and small for more than a half-century along Route 66 in New Mexico, died on April 21. He was 90.
A rosary and memorial Mass for Gonzales will be held Friday at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Tucumcari, according to his obituary.
Route 66 News published a feature about Gonzales in 2010 after meeting him in his Signs by Rudy business in Tucumcari.
At the time, literally dozens of his painted signs could be seen in Tucumcari. That number has diminished since he semi-retired some years ago and his work faded or was painted over.
But his signs still can be easily spotted if you keep your eyes open. His left-handed style made his work distinctive.
More from the article:
Gonzales said it took him less than a year to master lettering when he started in the sign business at age 20. But he said it took him many more years to become adept at composition, with the spacing between the letters and words. He said that’s where many sign companies, despite their high-tech computers, fail their clients because they’ve never mastered composition.
Though most of his work remains in Tucumcari, he also painted signs as far east as the Texas Panhandle to Albuquerque.
Gonzales was born in Roy, New Mexico. That leads to the connection to the King of Western Swing.
A young Bob Wills met Gonzales’ father many years ago at his barbershop in Roy, N.M. Wills heard that the elder Gonzales was a good fiddler, and encouraged him to join a band. Gonzales said his father nearly kicked the persistent Wills out of the shop because “he didn’t think a gringo could play” — that is, until Wills started sawing with that bow. Wills spent the early days of his music career playing around New Mexico, and learned how to play in front of varying audiences.
Learning to play Spanish-language songs later influenced his biggest-selling composition, “San Antonio Rose.”
Gonzales also learned to play fiddle a bit:
(Image of Rudy Gonzales via his obituary)