Seguin mourns passing of community activist

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Seguin mourns passing of community activist

By Bryan Kirk
Seguin Gazette

Published October 10, 2003

SEGUIN - A lifetime of community service came to an end this week with the passing of Robert Canales.

Canales, 68, whose name became synonymous with community activism in Seguin and the state of Texas, died Wednesday at Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital in San Antonio.

"My dad was very involved with the community," said his son, Eddie Canales.

Robert Canales' community involvement began in the early 1950s with the founding of the Boys Club in Bryan.

"That was before Boys Club of America actually took over," Canales said.

Canales dedicated his life to helping others and shaping the lives of young people throughout the state of Texas.

His affiliations through the last four decades included the Community Council of South Central Texas, a stint as Director of Education on Drug and Alcohol for Mental Health Mental Retardation in Bexar County and grassroots activism in Guadalupe County.

He also founded Boys Clubs in the Rio Grande Valley through the Model Cities programs in the cities of Edinburg, McAllen, Donna and San Juan.

Along the way, Canales made friends with the likes of Archbishop Patrick Flores of the San Antonio Arch Diocese, who worked with Canales to raise funds for the construction of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Seguin.

Canales also knew Clerence Little, who was part of the grassroots civil rights movement in Seguin during the 1960s.

He served on the Committee for Human Rights under former Texas Governor Preston Smith and befriended U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, who worked for Canales at MHMR in San Antonio.

"He has been credited by Congressman Ciro Rodriguez with encouraging him to get in politics," Eddie Canales said.

His son recalled a time when the fight for civil rights was hot even in Seguin.

It was as time when signs were posted in Starcke Park prohibiting blacks and Hispanics from entering.

"I remember my dad knocking down those signs," Eddie Canales said. "He was very well-known, very well-liked, but very involved."

One of the first people Canales met when he returned to Seguin was Councilman Rueben "Rocky" Contreras, who was a young boxer then.

"We were real close friends," Contreras said. "Robert was a civic-minded concerned citizen. He was always involved and tried to help in any way he could."

Former Councilman Sam Flores was also among the many friends who met Canales when he came to Seguin.

It was Flores who interviewed Canales for the job of Executive Director of the Seguin Boys Club.

Flores had been appointed by the board to interview Canales for the position and was to report back with his recommendations.

Canales was hired soon afterward and almost immediately established his mark on the youth of Seguin.

"He was very motivational. He was a very, very good man to work with the boys," Flores said.

The membership at the Seguin Boys Club increased dramatically, which forced the organization to consider relocating from the old building on Guadalupe Street to a new facility on Zorn - the current site of the Seguin Activity Center.

Canales continued his lifelong endeavor until his death.

His final project involved working with his grandson Christopher Canales to raise funds and awareness for the Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Organization.

Canales leaves behind a wife, three sons, two daughters-in-law and numerous grandchildren and friends.
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