OC dedicates pavilion

Tuesday afternoon, Pansy Case stood in front of a still portrait of Rudy Acosta videotaping for what seemed like five minutes in the Odessa College library. The portrait was positioned among a collection of Acosta's personal items, which were on display for the dedication of OC's new pavilion.

OC hosted a news conference for the opening and dedication of the Rudy Acosta Student Pavilion, where close friends, family, Mayor Larry Melton, elected city and county officials and more gathered to honor Acosta's life.

Case was Acosta's caregiver for 14 years. She followed him to Lubbock where he pursued a degree in psychology from Texas Tech University, and was with him in Austin when he died last February where he worked for the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities.

Acosta was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy at age 2 known as Werdnig-Hoffman's disease. He could barely turn a page and was almost always restricted to his back, but that didn't stop him from a 15-year odyssey to getting his bachelor's degree.

"I'm so proud of this," Case said of the OC pavilion dedication to Acosta. "He deserves it."

Case said she helped Acosta turn the pages to his textbooks and encouraged him to go into politics by telling him she would build a ramp for their van and drive down to Austin.

She first met Acosta on paper when she read about his graduation and what he overcame despite his crippling illness. Employed by a nursing home, she decided she would like to take care of someone like Acosta.

She got her wish five years later, and stayed with him until death, she said.

"He always told me to never give up," Case said.

OC public information officer Cheri Dalton said the funding for the pavilion went through right before Acosta died.

The Odessa Chamber of Commerce cut the oversized red ribbon for the pavilion opening.

The conference included speeches by OC president Gregory Williams, Mayor Larry Melton and Acosta's professor at Odessa College, Brian Dillie.

"He showed what a person can overcome," Dillie said. "He had such a strong work ethic."

Acosta's adopted parents James and Mary Lou Headlee were on hand for the opening. James Headlee said what the dedication meant to him was beyond comprehension and there were no words to describe the loss.

 AT THE PAVILION

>> Movie nights.

>> Poetry Readings.

>> Job Fairs.

>> Blood drives.

>> And more.