Rod Castle, CEO of Osito Foundation, Dies

Prominent GLBT fundraiser Rod Castle died yesterday, though the cause of death has not yet been determined.

Rod Castle was co-founder and CEO of the Osito Foundation, a Houston nonprofit that donates teddy bears to children affected by HIV/AIDS. Co-founder Oscar Velasquez, the foundation’s director and president, was Castle’s partner.

Both are well known in the GLBT community.

Tim Brookover, a communications adviser for the Osito Foundation, learned about Castle’s death on Facebook. “I started seeing all these messages, and I was just stunned,” he said.

One message appeared this morning around 1 a.m. on the wall of F Bar Houston from Irwin Palchick, owner of F Bar. The bar partnered with the Osito Foundation in the past.

We’ll keep you posted as details unfold.

This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2011.