Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez

Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez, passed away peacefully at his home, The Point House, in Touisset, Warren, RI, on the evening of December 20, 2025, at the age of 81. He was surrounded by his family including his wife of 45 years, Suzanne Cruanes-Rodriguez, and their two sons, Forest and Hunter. He leaves behind family members including a brother-in-law and two sisters-in-law, and beloved nieces, nephews, cousins, and many friends and colleagues.

Dr. Rodriguez was born in Manati, Puerto Rico, in 1944 to Manuel Rodríguez Cedeño and María Candida Cruz Miranda. He was pre-deceased by nine children, including three brothers, Hector, Israel, and Exor, and five sisters, Ruth Miriam, Hero, Olga, Leonor, and Millie. At the age of five, his family moved to New York City, where they settled in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY.

He served as Treasurer of his senior class at the New York School of Printing. After high school, Dr. Rodriguez served in the United States Navy from 1963 to 1969, and lived a life shaped by world travel and service. This included work at the Prithipura Infant Home in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he cared for sick and impoverished children.

A man of deep creativity and intellect, Dr. Rodriguez had a life-long affinity for playing the guitar, flute, and drums, as well as for singing and writing poetry. In 1974, he graduated from Fordham University with a degree in English and later completed his medical training at Columbia Presbyterian/St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospitals in upper Manhattan, NY.

Dr. Rodriguez worked as an anesthesiologist in Rhode Island for 37 years including time at Roger Williams Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital in Providence, RI, and his “second home,” Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island in Pawtucket, RI. He was the consecutive two-term President of the Pawtucket Medical Society in 2001 and 2002 and served as a faculty member of Brown University. He was proud to have inspired many nurse anesthetist students through his teaching at The Memorial Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia. Dr. Rodriguez was an earnest healer who treated his patients as if they were his own kin. His authenticity and compassion deeply touched the lives of all he served and worked with.

He spent many years tending to and enjoying his estate, Osprey Farm, on Mount Hope Bay in Bristol, RI, and summered at his shoreline residence at Point O’Woods Beach, in Old Lyme, CT. In his spare time, Dr. Rodriguez had a passion for gardening, boating and sailing, reading, history, music, caring for a wide variety of family pets, and nature, along with a deep appreciation for beauty and the arts.

A faithful Catholic, he attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Bristol, RI. He embodied the American dream in his professional life and was a patriotic American who adored Bristol and all the town had to offer. He was a member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the RI

Society of Anesthesiologists, the RI Medical Society, the American Association of Physician Specialists, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and the Friends of Mount Hope Farm.

Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez was a true Renaissance man—humble, kind to all, and one who passed on to his children his infectious spirit and joy for life in all of its facets. He was known for his energetic, captivating, and romantic personality, which warmed the hearts of everyone who knew him. He will be sorely missed.

Visiting Hours will be held at Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood Street, Bristol on Friday, January 2, 2026 from 8:30-10:00 AM. His funeral will start from Sansone Funeral Home at 10:00 AM with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 141 State Street, Bristol. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel School.