Reuben Rosalez

Reuben Rosalez, 71, of Aliso Viejo, California, passed away unexpectedly on September 18th, 2026, after a three-month battle with stomach cancer. Born in Danville, Illinois, he attended high school at West Chicago Community High School in West Chicago, Illinois.

He joined the Navy at age 17, wanting to see the world and have an adventure that would bring him joy much after his time in the service ended. He served his country from 1972-1975, serving in the Vietnam war, stationed as far as Guam and as close as Washington state and South Carolina.

He moved back to Illinois after his time in the service, getting a job at Western Electric and Bell Laboratories as a computer engineer. It was in 1987 when he met his partner Leslie, her daughter Christine, and her son Steven. They later had Nina.

In 1991, Reuben transitioned to a new department within AT&T which landed his family near Atlanta, Georgia. While in Atlanta, Reuben got his Master of Business Administration degree from Shorter College to advance his career in technology and cyber security.

After retiring from a 27 year career with AT&T, Reuben and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 2003 where he worked for Chase Bank. His career later brought him to southern California in 2012, where he lived with Leslie and near Christine.

His technology and business degrees were more than a career path for Reuben. He started many conversations with a joke or a silly mumble under his breath, before ending most conversations with details about the computer servers he was working on or ‘tickets’ he was completing in the early hours of the morning. In his early years, he enjoyed spending his time playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends, bike riding, working on cars, spending time with his family, bowling, taking road trips, photography and videography, listening to music of all kinds, and cooking up some interesting concoctions (usually involving Chorizo).

In his later years, he enjoyed reading mysteries, watching Cubs baseball and Ohio State football games, having a Blue Moon at Buffalo Wild Wings, talking with his siblings, caring for Leslie and their beloved dog Hailey, visiting with family, and studying to stay fresh in his work in technology.

Reuben was a kind, funny, smart, and giving man. He was quick witted, forgave easily, laughed amusedly, and devoted his life to his family and career. He was always the first one to say “yeah, let’s go! Get in the car!”. He moved through the world with an ease in his step.

Reuben is preceded in death by his parents, Feliciano Rosalez and Belen Marmolejo, and his brother Raul Rosalez. He is survived by his partner Leslie and his 3 children and their partners, Christine Cox (Ricardo Gomez), Nina Rosalez (Emily Sabol), Steven Cox (Erica Cox), and 2 grandchildren, Isabella Gomez and Trevor Cox. He is also survived by his siblings David Rosalez, Felix Junior Rosalez, Mary Rosalez and Rosa Rosalez.

He was loved and will be missed by many.

Friends and family are invited to honor his life with a visitation on Friday, October 16, 2026, from 10am to 1130am at Schoedinger Worthington, 6699 N High St, Worthington, OH 43085. After visitation, Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1230pm at Resurrection Cemetery’s chapel, 9571 N High Street, Lewis Center, Ohio 43035 followed by graveside committal and military honors.