Rodolfo San Miguel

Rodolfo San Miguel sadly passed away at the age of 78 after losing his hard-fought battle against Covid.  He was surrounded by his family at the hospital as he took his last breath and leaped into the spiritual world where he has gone to meet his father Guadalupe San Miguel, his mother Sixta San Miguel, and his brother Pablo San Miguel in Heaven.  He is survived by Ricarda, his wife of more than 53 years and his 4 children: Rudy Jr. (Maria), Michael Odin (Priscilla), Daniel Thor, and Monica Aphrodite (Charles) and 13 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren with another one on the way.  He is also survived by his 2 remaining brothers: Eduardo San Miguel and Guadalupe San Miguel, Jr. as well as his 2 sisters: Odilia Ortiz and Idalia Valverde.

Rudy was born on January 1, 1944, in Corpus Christi, Texas to Guadalupe San Miguel and Sixta Soto.  As 1 of their 6 children, Rudy was always known for his love of music, books, cars, and dancing.  He joined the Air Force after graduating from Ray High School in 1962.  After traveling in the Air Force, he was discharged and came back home where he found the love of his life, Ricarda Cabrera.  Upon their courtship, my mother grew fond of the man that he was, and they decided to start a life together.  They got married on February 1, 1969, and shortly thereafter had their 1st son Rudy Jr.  Their love for each other continued with the addition of 4 more, Michael Odin, Daniel Thor, Betty Jane (passed away at birth), and Monica Aphrodite. 

Rudy was always working to provide for his family and would find himself out of town a lot.  Every time he would come home, he would bring little gifts for his children.  Later did they realize that those gifts were what he didn’t finish on his journey back home, which would include a bag of M&M’s, a box of Cracker Jacks, peanuts, crackers, etc. 

Rudy retired at the age of 63 and thus began the next phase of his life…his domestication.  Our dad was not known for doing anything around the house like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, or ironing.  However, upon retirement, it seemed as if he was trying to make up for lost time.  You would see him sitting on the couch folding his laundry, ironing, and hanging up the clothes as he watched movies.  He would also clean and wash dishes.  He also made his lovely wife breakfast, although his culinary skills were limited to bacon, sausage, potatoes, beans, and eggs.  Anytime family would visit, there was always a pan of potatoes or refried beans ready for heating up and making tacos. 

Rudy had a passion for music and would help his brother Edward (Mr. LA) and his nephew (Victor) with any of their DJ gigs.  Rudy was always making CDs filled with music of different genres, and he would give them out as gifts.  He then moved to making a list of all his movies and giving his family a copy so that we could all enjoy.  His next passion was playing games.  He loved to play cards and Uno.  He was known to give himself an advantage when no one was looking only to get caught later and confessing to the ruse. 

Rudy was known for his dancing prowess.  He would always find himself at the center of attention at every dance event from Quinceañeras, Weddings, Baptisms, School Dances, or football games where he would join in with the cheerleaders.  Everyone would see him dance and start hyping him up.  He continued if there was an audience.  I do believe that his missed calling was to be an entertainer.  Along with his dancing talents, his lovely wife could be seen as one of his biggest fans and would go along with every pelvic thrust, every arm gyration, and every head bobbing.  Rudy would find himself on the dance floor dancing like there was no care in the world.  People would comment how inspirational it was to see a man of his advance years and wisdom dance as if he was a little kid and for a moment forget all the cares in the world and enjoy the moment for what it is: a gift, which is why it is called the present. 

We gather, as with all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Rudy helped shaped the lives of so many that knew him directly or indirectly.  And for those that have known him, we’ve gathered the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The good because of the kind of person he was. The bad because of the way he lost his battle to this horrible illness, and the ugly because of the ugly truth that he will no longer be with us.  Although he will be greatly missed, we should take comfort in knowing that he is with our Creator in Heaven making CDs and movie lists for all those in Heaven while jamming out to Tejano and Oldies like Abba, Elvis, Etta James to name a few and dancing like there is no tomorrow.  1 thing I have gathered from the loss of this precious soul is this: live today like it is your last and forget the drama and insignificant things that trouble your mind…because tomorrow is not promised. If my dad was able to speak to us from above, it would be this (I do not own the right to this):

Here's a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don't worry be happy
Don't worry be happy now

The family will receive condolences on Friday, September 24, 2021, from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Trevino Funeral Home, 3006 Niagara St. @ Port; with a Holy Rosary to be recited at 7:00 PM that evening. A funeral cortege will depart the funeral home on Saturday, September 25, 2021, at 9:30 AM for a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at Most Precious Blood Catholic Church at 10:00 AM. Services to conclude that same day.

Face Masks must be worn, and social distancing must be practiced while attending funeral services at this facility.

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