Miguel was born on December 28, 1952, in San Antonio, TX. After graduating from high school, Miguel was proud to serve as a United States Marine. He graduated from Cal Poly-Pomona, and he made a career as a city planner working for the cities of Ontario, Dallas, Corpus Christi and Aransas Pass. After retiring in 2016, Miguel started his consulting business which continued until he passed.
He is preceded in death by his mother, Aurora Zamora and father, Frank Zamora. He is survived by his loving wife, Maria Saldana, and three children; Irma Linda Trujillo (Robert), Lisa Ayala (Gabriel) and Steven Saldana (Monica). He had nine grandchildren: Alex, Gabriel, Aaron and Addison Trujillo; Ryan, Alayna and Ava Arredondo; Ariana Ayala; and Kayla Saldana. He also had six grandchildren through marriage: Zoe, Chloe, Gabriel, Bella, Miranda and Brock.
Miguel loved his grandkids. He attended as many functions as he could to watch them sing, dance, play violin, run track, or play soccer, basketball, softball, baseball and football. He had special bonds with each of them and had nicknames for each. He looked forward to our annual camping trip at the Guadalupe River. He cooked breakfast for everybody each morning and made the best grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Miguel loved his kids and was always there to help Steven build something or fix or hang up anything his girls needed. He was readily available to take Lisa breakfast or take Irma Linda to lunch. Miguel loved his wife, Maria. They loved going dancing on Friday nights, playing Mexican Train with her family, traveling and watching movies on Lifetime. He loved each of his brothers and their families. He had many fond memories of his nieces and nephews and loved being their Uncle Mike.
He was also the king of corny jokes. None of his kids or grandkids were ever 3rd graders. They were all “turd” graders who were then promoted to “fart” graders. He never had a haircut, he just had his ears lowered. He loved to answer the phone, “Joe’s Bar and Grill, Pete speaking!”
Most importantly, Miguel was a man of God. He was active in the Catholic Church and had served with the Knights of Columbus. He also served as a lector for some time at Most Precious Blood. He loved attending the Men’s ACTS retreat so much that he assisted with organizing some of the future retreats. While we are saddened at this sudden loss of a great man, we know that he is home in the house of the Lord, and we look forward to the day we see him again.
