Rodolfo Sajot, lovingly known as Rudy, Rod, Udi, and Lolo Rudy, passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 19, 2026, following a long journey with dementia. He spent his final days surrounded by family and people who loved him, and passed peacefully and without pain at 84 years old.
Rudy was born to Alfredo and Matilda Sajot in Cavite City, Philippines, and grew up in Zamboanga City. In 1990, Rudy immigrated to the United States with his wife, Angelita, and their two daughters, Ruth and Brenda, beginning a new chapter for the family they had built together.
Rudy was a man of many talents and many chapters. He studied mechanical engineering and over the course of his working life held jobs ranging from sales and coding to truck driving, from which he ultimately retired in 2005. His life also took him overseas to Kuwait.
Rudy possessed a remarkable resilience. Over the years, he survived a septuple heart bypass and prostate cancer. After developing diabetes, he made meaningful changes to his diet and lifestyle and successfully brought it under control. That determination was characteristic of the way Rudy approached life.
Above all, Rudy loved the Lord, his family, and the simple pleasures of being alive.
He loved good food, red wine, bonfires, walking, swimming, card games, Sudoku and crossword puzzles, being outdoors in nature, DIY projects and tools. Even the ordinary routines of life brought him pleasure, including his daily trip to check the mailbox. In his final days, surrounded by family, he was still Rudy—asking for ice cream.
Those who knew him will remember his famous “Rudyisms”—candid observations and unexpected quips that could catch everyone completely by surprise. They will remember the way Angelita’s quirks could make him laugh. And occasional family photographs show Rudy with his signature John Travolta pose, one hand raised for the camera.
Rudy shared 53 years of marriage with his beloved wife, Angelita Sajot. He is survived by Angelita; his daughters, Ruth Grover and her husband, Alex, and Brenda Fryar and her husband, Max; and his sisters, Zeni Sajot and Norma West.
In his final days, Rudy was surrounded by love. At his side were Angelita; Ruth and Brenda; his sons-in-law, Alex and Max; his nephews Francis and Jeff; Francis’s son, Cyrill; and his in-laws, Vicky, Santi, Citas, and Cora. They were able to gather around him, to be present, and to say goodbye.
Dementia may have marked the final chapter of Rudy’s life, but it does not define the life that came before it.
That life was much bigger.
It was a life that stretched from Cavite to Zamboanga and Manila; from Kuwait to Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, New Jersey, and lastly Virginia Beach. It was 53 years of marriage, family, faith in the Lord, hard work and resilience. It was tools and projects, swimming and walking, Sudoku and crossword puzzles, card games and bonfires, good meals and red wine, daily trips to the mailbox, unexpected Rudyisms, and one unmistakable John Travolta pose.
He was Rudy.
And he was deeply loved.
