Monday, October 5, 2026 | St. Lawrence County, NY
CHAMPIONSGATE, Florida – Lana Rodriguez, 76, who resided in Norwood, NY for most of her life, passed away on July 3, 2026 in the care of Hospice after a long battle with lung cancer.
She was born on October 4, 1949 in San Diego, California to Roderick and Alfreida Monfette Bowen. Part of a Navy family, she and her parents and sister relocated across the country to Vermont and settled in Norwood in the mid-1960s. She graduated from Norwood-Norfolk Central School in 1967 and married the love of her life, Samuel
Rodriguez, in July 1969. After losing her parents and sister to a tragic accident in 1972, Lana moved back into the family home in Norwood. She and Sam raised their two children there.
Lana was well-known throughout the North Country for her crafting skills; she ran the Macrame Etc. craft store out of the house until the early 80s, when she and Sam opened a Montgomery Ward catalog outlet store in Massena. The Montgomery Ward parent organization closed catalog stores across the country in the mid-80s, and Lana
pivoted to the human services field, going back to college at SUNY Canton and SUNY Potsdam as a non-traditional student, majoring in sociology and criminal justice.
She spent the remainder of her working life giving back to the community, first as a counselor for the CAVA Rape Crisis Center, then a victim advocate for the St. Lawrence County Family Court, and finally for fifteen years as a transitional services counselor for the New York State Department of Corrections.
After losing Sam to brain cancer in 2010, Lana started over once again by opening the Nest Egg Bed & Breakfast in the family home. She greatly enjoyed hosting families who traveled to the area for events at the local colleges. She also served as a volunteer for Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley. She relocated to central Florida in 2019 for health reasons and to be closer to family in that area, and devoted herself to enjoying nature and caring for her family and her beloved dogs.
She is survived by her son Jason, daughter-in-law Leigh Rodriguez, and their children Bowen, Tate and Neiva Rodriguez, as well as her daughter Rhonda, son-in-law Richard Cook, and their daughter Carina Cook. She is predeceased by her parents Roderick and Alfreida Bowen, her sister Rhonda Bowen, and her husband Samuel Rodriguez.
Lana requested that there be no formal calling hours or funeral services and chose to be an organ donor upon her death. Her family will be holding an informal graveside committal service with family and close friends for the internment of her and Sam’s ashes at the Riverside Cemetery in Norwood on Friday, October 9 at 11:00 AM.
Anyone wishing to make donations in her memory may do so to Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley or to the American Cancer Society.
