RUDOLFO LUJAN BACA: HIS FINAL DAYS

by Edward M. Kelly
May 1, 2009

 

Born in Albuquerque, NM on July 16, 1956

Died in Philadelphia, PA on April 24, 2009

 

I regret being unable to speak with some of you earlier about Rudy’s sudden and unexpected death.  I regret also the possibly conflicting information that some of you may have received about Rudy’s final days.

 

Rudy and I drove to Philadelphia on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, to see the Cezanne and Beyond exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  That evening we had dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Philadelphia.  Rudy told the restaurant’s owner several times that it was the best Peking duck that he had ever eaten there or anywhere else.

 

Rudy and I visited my cousins, Larry and Mary Forde Beaudry, in East Norriton, PA on Thursday, April 23, 2009.  Rudy and I had lunch with Mary at a nearby restaurant.  Rudy remarked on the way back to Mary’s home that he wanted to be cremated when he died.  Mary indicated that she did not.  To lighten the conversation I mentioned that a Catholic cemetery in the Midwest has created a section where a person may be buried in a blanket.  Mary remarked that was really going green!

 

Rudy and I returned to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday, April 24, 2009, to see the Cezanne and Beyond exhibition for a second time.  At approximately 2:30 p.m., Rudy told me that he wanted to do some shopping.  We agreed to meet at 5:00 p.m. at the museum’s restaurant where we had made a reservation for dinner that morning.  Rudy who is never late did not meet me at 5:00 p.m.

 

I waited at the museum’s restaurant for Rudy until approximately 5:45 p.m.  Since Rudy still had not arrived at the museum, I decided to return to our hotel which was several blocks away from the museum with the expectation that he would be there or would arrive shortly.  It was apparent that Rudy had been at the hotel sometime after 2:30 p.m. because the clothes that he had worn earlier in the day were there.  I waited at the hotel until approximately 8:15 p.m. for Rudy to return.  Since Rudy and I had not eaten lunch, I decided that I should get something to eat.  When I returned to the hotel at approximately 10:00 p.m., Rudy was still not there.

 

I spoke immediately to the hotel’s front desk attendant and was advised to call 911.  The police station is only a block away from the hotel, and a police officer came to my room within minutes.  The police officer informed me that Rudy could not be reported as a missing person for 24 hours because he was an adult and without mental impairment.  The police officer volunteered, however, to contact the hospitals in central Philadelphia to see whether Rudy had been treated in the emergency room or admitted as a patient.  The response of each hospital to the police officer’s inquiry was that no patient with the name of Rudolfo (Rudy) Baca had been treated in the emergency room or admitted as a patient.

 

I telephoned each of the hospitals at regular intervals throughout the night in an attempt to locate Rudy.  The response each time was that no patient with the name of Rudolfo (Rudy) Baca had been treated in the emergency room or admitted as a patient.

 

I left the hotel at approximately 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009, and went in person to each of the hospitals in central Philadelphia.  The response again each time was that no patient with the name of Rudolfo (Rudy) Baca had been treated in the emergency room or admitted as a patient.

 

I decided at approximately 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009, to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to see whether there might be some information there on Rudy.  The top security officer was summoned, and he told me that there had been an incident at approximately 5:20 p.m. on Friday, April 24, 2009.  A young man in jeans and wearing cowboy boots had collapsed on the museum’s front steps, was given medical assistance by some doctors visiting the museum, and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.

 

Since it was clear that Rudy was the person described by the security officer, it was unnecessary to show me the video of the incident.  I told the security officer that no hospital in central Philadelphia had a record of a patient with the name of Rudolfo (Rudy) Baca being treated in the emergency room or admitted as a patient.  The security officer checked the museum’s logs and informed me that Rudy had been taken to a hospital by Medic 13, Engine 9.  Since the museum did not know to which hospital Rudy was taken, the security officer advised me to go to the police station and ask the police to find the hospital to which Rudy had been taken.

 

I went immediately to the police station.  A police officer spent approximately one hour making inquiries before telling me at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009, that Rudy was dead and that his body was at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner.

 

I went immediately from the police station to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner.  An investigator told me that Rudy had come directly there without going to a hospital because he had died in the ambulance.   The investigator told me that the required autopsy had been performed and that it showed that Rudy had died of heart failure and heart disease.  I completed the necessary paperwork, was permitted to view Rudy’s body, and advised that Rudy’s next of kin would have to authorize release of his body to me.

 

I telephoned Rudy’s brother, Martin, in Albuquerque, before leaving the Philadelphia Medical Examiner, but I was unable to reach him.  I left my telephone number at the hotel with the investigator before returning to the hotel where I tried unsuccessfully again to reach Martin.  At approximately 3:20 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, 2009, Rudy’s sister, Angela, reached me at my hotel after having obtained the telephone number from the Philadelphia Medical Examiner.  Angela told me that Rudy’s family had been contacted on Friday evening by the New Mexico state police and informed of Rudy’s death.  I learned later that in an attempt to reach me Rudy’s family had contacted Charles and Kathleen Quinn Abernathy, close friends of Rudy and me, in Washington, DC at midnight on Friday, April 24, 2009, and that many persons in Washington, DC  had learned of Rudy’s death at approximately the same time that I did.

 

Rudy’s family authorized release of his body to me.  Rudy’s family and I immediately agreed that his funeral and burial should be in Albuquerque.  Rudy’s family offered to make all the funeral arrangements there.

 

The Philadelphia Medical Examiner was unable to recommend to me a local funeral home due to conflicts of interest.  I went to the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul which is a short distance from the hotel and found the name of a local funeral home in its bulletin.  I made arrangements with that local funeral home for Rudy’s cremation in accordance with his wishes.

 

I learned later that Rudy had been taken to a hospital.  The primary identification that Rudy had on his person was his New Mexico driver’s license which indicated that his surname was Lujan-Baca rather than Baca.  Since the hospital registered Rudy as Lujan-Baca rather than Baca, I had been unable to locate him.  I learned later also that the doctor who treated Rudy in the emergency room at the hospital had contacted Rudy’s family in New Mexico on Friday evening and told Rudy’s family that he had died quickly despite efforts to save his life.

 

Rudy and I had planned to visit my cousins, Larry and Joan Marlow Cullen and their five children, on Saturday, April 25, 2009, in Souderton, PA.  I telephoned the Cullens at noon that day to tell them that we would be unable to come.  I called the Cullens again later that afternoon to tell them that Rudy had died.  The Cullens wanted to drive immediately to Philadelphia to be with me, but I had to make funeral arrangements and had not slept for 24 hours.  We agreed that it would be better for them to come for me on Sunday which they did and that I would stay with them until Monday, April 27, 2009, when they would drive me back to Philadelphia to get Rudy’s personal effects and the urn containing his ashes.

 

I had been told on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner that Rudy’s personal effects were in a safe since it was the weekend and only the director had access to the safe.  When the Cullens and I arrived at the Philadelphia Medical Examiner on Monday, April 27, 2009, we were told that it had none of Rudy’s personal effects because Rudy had come there in a hospital gown.  The Philadelphia Medical Examiner informed me that Rudy had died at Hahnemann University Hospital so the Cullens and I drove there to get Rudy’s personal effects.

 

The Cullens and I went from the hospital to the funeral home to get the urn containing Rudy’s ashes.  The Cullens then drove me back to Washington, DC in Rudy’s 1989 Cadillac.  Early Tuesday morning, April 28, 2009, my cousin, Brian Burke, drove me to the airport for the flight to Albuquerque.

 

A Rosary was recited for Rudy on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, in Our Lady of Fatima Church in Albuquerque.  Rudy’s Mass of Christian Burial was in the same church on Thursday, April 30, 2009, followed by his burial in Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Albuquerque next to his mother, Lucille Lujan Baca, and his sister, Evelyn Rose Baca.

 

There will be a memorial service for Rudy in Washington, DC on Friday, July 17, 2009.  Two of Rudy’s aunts and other family members plan to attend.  I will send you additional information as soon as it is available. You are most welcome to join Rudy’s family, colleagues, friends, and me on that occasion to celebrate Rudy’s all too brief life.