Roberto Cruz Flores

Roberto Cruz Flores
May 3, 1935 – August 24, 2021
His was a life well-lived. He fought the fights that needed to be fought. He stood up for those who could not always stand up for themselves. He saw wrongs and worked to right them. He envisioned possibilities and worked to make them realties. He loved his God, his family, and his community. After a lifetime of giving, he entered his heavenly reward on August 24, 2021.
Roberto Cruz Flores entered this world on May 3, 1935, about one minute after his twin sister Anne Cruz Flores. Born to Catarina Ruiz Flores and Francisco Flores in Beaumont, Texas, Roberto grew up with his family in Jefferson Alley, which was located where the Great Lawn of the City of Beaumont Downtown Event Center now stands. He attended St. Anthony School but eventually dropped out to join the US Air Force. Though Roberto always firmly believed education was the route to success, he made his decision to join the Air Force before graduation to help financially support his family. Roberto always said, “separate your needs from your wants”, a lesson he learned from a young age.
While serving our country, Roberto kept in contact with his high school sweetheart, Ella Almaguer. They corresponded via letters, phone calls, and he visited when he was on leave. Roberto originally met Ella through his older brother Louis, who was dating Ella’s older sister. Ella remembers their first “near meeting” when Roberto rode his red bicycle to his brother’s house to visit. When Ella saw Roberto riding up the road, she was intrigued but ran into the house because she was shy. Louis wanted Ella to meet Roberto, but she refused responding, “He came to see you, not me!” Later that weekend, Ella went to a dance at the invitation of Roberto’s twin sister Anne. When Ella walked into the dancehall, Roberto quickly approached her and asked her to dance. Ella, whom Roberto affectionately called “Turtle”, and Roberto only shared one dance that night, but they shared many more in their nearly 60-year love affair.
When Roberto returned from the Air Force, he worked at Texas radio stations in Sinton, Silsbee, and Beaumont when AM radio was king. His children remember listening to his smooth “radio voice” as he spun vinyl at KKAS Radio in Silsbee in the early 1970s. Roberto then worked for and ultimately retired from KBMT Television in Beaumont in the master control room.
At the age of 45, Roberto enrolled in the Lamar College of Technical Arts (currently the Lamar Institute of Technology) where he earned an associate degree in special education. He then enrolled at Lamar University and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. After working well past midnight, Roberto would wake long before sunrise, and spend some quiet time alone before the family woke. Roberto enjoyed that early morning solitude, an affinity he attributed to spending many days alone at home due to a prolonged childhood illness during a portion of his primary education. Because of this prolonged absence from elementary school, Roberto never learned to recite the alphabet in order, although he was an excellent speller and an avid reader. Additionally, Roberto never learned to write in cursive, and he always wrote in block capital print, even using that style to take extensive notes during college lectures. After his daily morning solitude, Roberto would get the kids to school, return home, then walk two miles to the bus stop to commute to Lamar via the Beaumont Municipal Transit bus. He even rode the bus to his graduation. When his family tried to get him to ride with them to the commencement, he refused stating, “The bus got me there every day for the past seven years. It will carry me there for the final trip!” After earning his bachelor’s degree, Roberto worked for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the Parole Division and ultimately retired as a Case Manager at the Beaumont State Center (currently Spindletop Center).
Roberto touched countless lives through his lifetime of volunteer work with youth, community service, and staunch advocacy for Beaumont’s Hispanic community. He was actively involved as coach, member, board member, or committee chair in organizations such as Beaumont National Little League, , local and regional PTA, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, Catholic Youth Organization, the Ben and Julie Rogers “I have a Dream” Mentor Program, YMCA, Lions Club, and numerous other city and state committees and non-profit organizations. He was a founding member of the Hispanic Community for Progress which hosted Beaumont’s first Cinco de Mayo Celebration at Riverfront Park in the early 1980s. Roberto was also a long-time leader in the local and regional League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) organization serving as a founder and president of local LULAC Council 4410 and Director for Texas LULAC District 9 which encompassed seven counties throughout Southeast Texas. Roberto was also a founding member of the Avenues Neighborhood Association as well as the Avenues Citizens on Patrol. He and Ella were instrumental in addressing crime issues and improving the quality of life for citizens in that neighborhood. They dedicated countless evenings patrolling his beloved Avenues neighborhood and were directly involved in the arrest and conviction of multiple armed robbery suspects and drug dealers. Of all his service, Roberto’s greatest and most rewarding work was his volunteer tutoring of hundreds of first and second grade students at Fletcher Elementary in Beaumont. After his retirement, Roberto volunteered four days weekly for over ten years helping children develop a love of reading. He always said, “If you can’t read, you can’t succeed” and he knew addressing the problems of our society would require educating and mentoring the young children in his community. He continued to volunteer at Fletcher until he could no longer physically walk from the parking lot to the school. He was always the best teacher, patient, passionate, compassionate, and genuinely caring.
While he was known for his advocacy of Beaumont’s Hispanic community, especially its youth, his involvement in community advocacy actually started back in his days of relying on public transportation to commute to Lamar. During that time, the City of Beaumont planned on raising the bus fare. While the increase in fare would seem a minor issue to those who did not rely on public transportation, Roberto knew it would have a big financial impact on his fellow passengers, many of whom relied on public transportation to commute to and from work. Roberto’s public advocacy through petitioning city officials, addressing city council on multiple occasions, and asking the local press to shine a light on a problem that may otherwise have gone unaddressed, was the start of many battles Roberto would take on in service to others who may have been underserved and voiceless.
While his family will always cherish Roberto’s public example of service to others, what we will miss most is his love for them, his warm and sincere smile or mischievous grin depending on the circumstances, his sage advice, and his sense of humor. He was our coach, their tutor, our voice of reason, our passionate advocate, our shoulder to cry on, and our personal hero. He loved each of his children equally but differently. He always met us where we were and gave to us what we needed in the manner we needed it. Dad loved to visit with family and especially cherished gatherings for Christmas and birthdays. We will always remember how he loved to watch everyone else open their gifts. Then, he would slowly, and carefully open his presents, inspect each one meticulously, then genuinely tell the giver thank you with a big smile. Dad LOVED to eat, and he was never a picky eater. Every time we ate out, he would literally clean his plate. He never asked for a to-go box saying, “I take no prisoners!” But what he would leave with was a new stain on his shirt. We would always take bets on when in the meal he would drop a small piece of food, queso, or gravy onto his shirt. Dad loved to watch The Twilight Zone series, All In The Family, Barney Miller, and WKRP in Cincinnati. He also loved to people watch at the Mall. He never missed a Valentine’s Day gift, but only for the girls in the family. He loved to read and to discuss local and national politics and current events. He always had his staunch beliefs and opinions, but he always took the time to listen to opposing views. He knew we could and would disagree, but it was never acceptable to be disagreeable. He was a passionate public speaker and had the ability to captivate his audience while never using written notes. He spoke what he believed, always from his heart, and most often for others. He would say, “If you say what you believe, you do not need notes.”
Left to cherish these memories are his wife Ella Almaguer Flores, daughter and son-in-law Jeanine and Steve Howard, daughter Mary Katherine Pacella, son-in-law Anthony Pacella, and daughter-in-law and son Lisa and Rob Flores, Jr. Roberto also had a chihuahua-miniature pincher mix named Hachi. Truth be told, Roberto staunchly opposed buying a dog. But, when his son and daughter-in-law saw Hachi at Pet Smart, they bought him as a gift for Ella. The family knows that Hachi was Dad’s dog and Roberto doted over him until the end. The family also knows Lisa is the only person that could have gotten away with that type of stunt!
Roberto had eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren whom he cherished; Steven and Jessica Naples and their children Poe, Amelia, and Lucas, Aften and Jordan Nauman, Amanda and Thomas Reed, Jr. and their son Thomas, III, Dylan and Hayley Howard and their daughter Kylee, Cody Howard, Anthony Pacella, II, Anna Pacella, John Wilson, Jared Wilson, Gabby Flores, and Livy Flores.
A public visitation will be held on Saturday, September 4, from 9am – 12pm, at Claybar-Kelley-Watkins Funeral Home, 1155 N. 11th Street in Beaumont. In keeping with Roberto’s care and love of his community, family is asking that all attendees to please wear a mask and adhere to social distancing.
A private family mass and graveside service will be held at a later time.