Roberto was born in Corpus Christi on December 18, 1958, son of the late Gregorio and Rita San Miguel.
Roberto graduated from Ray High School in 1976 and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005.
He served as a Research Specialist for the State of Texas Attorney General’s Office under four different administrations, Jim Maddox, Dan Morales, John Cornyn and Greg Abbott until his retirement in April 2014. He attended high profile meetings such as the 1995 US-Mexico Border State Attorneys General Counsel which focused on binational law enforcement, extradition treaties, and cross-border prosecutions. Meetings that included discussions on the legal issues surrounding Mexican nations in the US. Initiatives to curb illegal immigration, and emphasized increasing Border Patrol agents, reforming the asylum process and improving workplace enforcement.
Robert’s adventures prior to landing in Austin Texas took him from Corpus Christi to Dallas, Chicago and many places in between. Roberto always had a love for fishing and worked at places like Captain Boomers, which is the current Landry Seafood House, he also worked shucking oysters at Waterstreet Oyster Bar. There are stories of offshore deep sea fishing expeditions in Vera Cruz, Mexico that led Roberto to open his very own San Miguel Seafood stand at the Austin Farmers Market where he sold wholesale seafood to Chefs and the public. Roberto would make weekly trips to the Gulf for the fresh catches to be sold at the market.
Roberto closed San Miguel Seafood and became the proud co-owner of Mongers Market & Kitchen in Austin’s East Ceasar Chavez location in March of 2015. Mongers was listed as one of the hottest places to eat in 2015 by The Austin Monthly. The Tribeza once wrote about Mongers Market & Kitchen “At the helm is the dream team of Roberto San Miguel who made a name for himself as one of Austin’s top fishmongers, procuring fresh seafood for some of Austin’s best restaurants and farmers’ markets”. Robert later sold his portion of the restaurant and settled back in Corpus Christi to retire.
As a rite of passage and bonding, Roberto was proud to teach his nieces and nephews the art of deep-sea fishing by taking them to Port Aransas on fishing trips with his buddy, the late Captain Gary Cooper. Memories with their Tio Beto that will last a lifetime.
In his free time Roberto enjoyed listening to jazz and playing acoustic guitar and cello, often jamming with friends.
Roberto is preceded in death by his father Gregorio and his mother Rita Lopez San Miguel, his brothers Arnoldo Rios and Oscar San Miguel and his great niece Audrey Langford.
He leaves behind his siblings who will cherish the times and memories they shared, his sisters Carmen (Levi) Escobedo, Blanche (Ramiro) Hoyos, Rita San Miguel, his brothers Carlos San Miguel, Joel (Irma)San Miguel, and sister-in-law Hope Rios, along with numerous nieces and nephews who he loved dearly, he also had dear friends who he considered his brothers.
To Get Caring Hands – Pilar Berglund, Javier Colmenero, Lilian, Maria, Christina, Mario and Monica. A world of gratitude for the exceptional care, kindness and abundance of love shown to our brother Robert. The professional comforting care provided contributed to his peaceful passing and gave comfort to our family. Also Harbor Hospice for excelling in their commitment in providing support coordinating a quality care team in our time of need. Our sincere appreciation and over-whelming gratitude to our sister-in-law Irma San Miguel for love and support given to Robert and our family during this time.
We invite you to join us for a celebration of life which will be held at Funeraria Del Angel, located at 4901 Everhart Road, Corpus Christi, TX, 78411, on February 21, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A prayer service will take place at the same venue from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on the same day.
