Rudolph “Rudy” Gomez, an American politics professor at CC in the 1960s, died April 19, 2018. He was 87.

Born in Rawlins, Wyoming, Rudy as a young man enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served during the Korean Conflict. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, his master’s degree from Stanford University, and his doctorate from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

When a fourth tenure-track position was added to CC’s Political Science Department in the 1960s, Rudy signed on. He was an authority on the state of Colorado. With co-author Curtis W. Martin, he published “Colorado Government and Politics,” a textbook that was widely used in colleges and universities statewide. In 1968, he left CC to teach at the University of Denver. He eventually became a dean at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Rudy’s survivors include his wife of 61 years, Polly Petty Gomez; children Jennifer (Sherry) Gomez and Clay P. Gomez; and two grandchildren.