Nearly 200 family members, local leaders and community organizers gathered at the White Room on Sunday to remember Ruth Rodríguez-Fay, a longtime educator and activist who helped Latino families navigate Worcester’s public schools and fought for greater representation in the city’s civic life.
Rodríguez-Fay died in August at age 80, nine days before her 81st birthday.
“I meet a lot of people with strong opinions,” U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said at the memorial, “but many of these people like to express themselves and do nothing else. Ruth kept strong opinions, and she let you know what she believed, and then she showed up.”
McGovern was among about a half-dozen elected officials who attended the gathering. He remembered Rodríguez-Fay as a friend of 30 years and someone who rallied supporters for causes she believed in.
“She organized, and she spoke at rallies,” he said. “She held signs, she made phone calls, she went door to door. Ruth not only talked the talk, but she walked the walk,” he said. “Politicians loved and feared her, and when the topic was education, get out of the way.”
Born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, Rodríguez-Fay moved to New York City at age 10 and later lived in Lancaster, Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree in social work from Boston University in 1972 before settling in Worcester.
Her early work in the city included helping Latino residents find employment and social services through Port of Entry, a community center. She also taught at Chandler Magnet School and became the first school-community liaison hired by the district for Worcester’s Transitional Bilingual Education Program.
“She worked in many roles and in many ways tirelessly to improve services and really the possibilities for Worcester families to be able to thrive,” her daughter Kelly Fay-Rodríguez said. “She was a powerful force and inspired so many of us to be ambitious and proud, and to be grounded firmly in our origins.”
Kelly Fay-Rodríguez, who served as a representative for international labor affairs during the Biden administration, acknowledged that people did not always agree with her mother, but said her commitment to others was unmistakable.
“You could not help but see her passion and feel her love and share her belief that we are all stronger together than we could ever be alone,” she said.
Rodríguez-Fay’s education advocacy extended beyond Worcester. She served as president of Citizens for Public Schools, a Massachusetts advocacy organization, and as a diversity adviser for Save Our Schools. Outside education, she served on the Family Health Center of Worcester’s board of directors and joined the national advisory board of Defending the Early Years.
In 1985, she served as a delegate to the United Nations World Conference on Women in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 2021, Rodríguez-Fay was among the plaintiffs in a federal voting-rights lawsuit challenging Worcester’s system of electing all school committee members at large. The plaintiffs argued that the system weakened Black and Latino residents’ ability to elect representatives of their choice.
The settlement introduced six district seats and two at-large seats, with the new system taking effect for the 2023 municipal elections.
State Sen. Robyn Kennedy remembered Rodríguez-Fay as a mentor who shared her experience and helped guide her work in office.
“When I was first elected to office a few years ago, I found that many people told me what I needed to do. But Ruth taught me what I needed to do,” Kennedy said.
In a statement following Rodríguez-Fay’s death, Mayor Joseph M. Petty praised her commitment to public education, civil rights and Worcester’s Latino community.
“She brought passion, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to justice to everything she did,” Petty wrote.
Petty had previously awarded Rodríguez-Fay a key to the city in 2025 in recognition of her 80th birthday and contributions to Worcester.
Other honors included the Barbara Jordan Award for voter-registration and civic-engagement work; a certificate of appreciation from Friends of the Latino Education Institute; a Community Service Award from the Worcester Sheriff’s Office; and citations from the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate.
The Latino Education Institute at Worcester State University also honored her posthumously with its Community Legacy Award for her years of service to the institute and the community it serves.
Rodríguez-Fay also wrote poetry. After her death, her family published Quisqueyana, a collection of poems she wrote during her lifetime. Her writing had previously received an Editor’s Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry.
Her nephew, District 4 City Councilor Luis A. Ojeda, recalled attending an event in Boston where Latino elected officials from across Massachusetts recognized him because of his aunt’s contributions.
“We were in a room with so many elected officials from all over Massachusetts, and it was amazing to see so many Latinos that were the first in their generations to be a mayor, to be councilors,” Ojeda said. “They all knew my aunt. They knew Ruth and that she was a pioneer, she was fierce, she was one of the reasons why we’re here today.”
Sam Bishop can be reached at kalirunner77@gmail.com
