{"id":75825,"date":"2026-02-04T08:56:29","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:56:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/889296024"},"modified":"2026-02-04T08:56:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T11:56:29","slug":"ruben-garcia-longtime-san-antonio-radio-voice-and-tprs-vp-of-technology-and-operations-dies-at-66","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/04\/ruben-garcia-longtime-san-antonio-radio-voice-and-tprs-vp-of-technology-and-operations-dies-at-66\/","title":{"rendered":"Ruben Garcia, longtime San Antonio radio voice and TPR’s VP of Technology and Operations, dies at 66"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ruben Garcia, Texas Public Radio\u2019s Vice President of Technology and Operations, died on Tuesday, Feb. 3, following a sudden brain aneurysm that struck him on Feb. 1. He was 66.<\/p>\n

Garcia was hired by Texas Public Radio in 2011 as a production announcer, and soon began working with the engineering department, ascending to VP of Technology and Operations in 2024, where he oversaw broadcast operations, including the station\u2019s automation system and IT. Garcia is also The Voice of Texas Public Radio, heard daily on all stations through many on-air sponsorship and promotional messages, and, of course, the top-of- the-hour time check that you can always count on.<\/p>\n

Before arriving at Texas Public Radio, longtime San Antonio listeners would have known Garcia\u2019s voice from many commercial radio stations, and as a traffic reporter with Metro Networks.<\/p>\n

Born in May of 1959, Garcia\u2019s start in the industry began in 1975 while still a teenager in Laredo, at KLAR-AM. He soon worked his way to San Antonio, where one of his early gigs was hosting on KZ100, \u201cThe Hot FM.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ruben\u2019s career took him to Houston for a short time, and back to San Antonio. He worked for KSAQ-FM, and at Cox Radio from the late 1990s through the early 2000s, including stints on Y100 and KONO-FM.<\/p>\n

Roger Allen, former program director at Cox, recalled that Garcia was \u201ca humble, very nice person\u201d with \u201ca golden voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so smooth in his delivery, and so natural,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

Commercial radio was a fiercely competitive business in the 1980s and 1990s, and according to former colleague Chrissie Murnin, Garcia’s \u201cmischievous streak\u201d helped him win the audience on more than one occasion, even if it meant a bit of trickery. Murnin remembered that Garcia, then working the night shift, called a competitor\u2019s DJ on their station hotline, pretended to be the station engineer, and instructed the host to power down the station for maintenance for a few hours, to which the DJ readily complied. Finding dead air on the competitor, the audience would naturally tune in to his show instead, Garcia surmised!<\/p>\n

Garcia was also known to be handy with tech, said Murnin, who called him \u201cMr. Fix-It.\u201d Murnin noted he could fix just about anything at the station \u2026 and then some, whether it was a lamp, a vacuum. \u2026 You get the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt didn\u2019t surprise me that he wound up at TPR as VP of Technology,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n

He will be remembered for his sweet and gentle nature, his skill with a solder, his determination in problem-solving, and his love for the medium of radio itself.<\/p>\n

Ruben was not only the voice of TPR, he was our heart. His love of radio, his way of connecting with each and every colleague, and his quiet insights into how we can best show up for each other will leave a lasting imprint. To say he’s already missed would be an understatement. \u2014 Ashley Alvarado, TPR President & CEO<\/i><\/p>\n

He was a true gentleman, and I put the emphasis on gentle. \u2014 Deirdre Saravia, host of World Music<\/i><\/p>\n

Ruben was kind, gentle, dedicated, and he could fix almost anything \u2014 a Radio Renaissance man. (And just below the surface, an incredible wit!) \u2014 Dave Rios, former KONO-FM talent<\/i><\/p>\n

One of the many things I appreciated about Ruben was the way he would anticipate needs around the station, and let me know he solved a problem with a simple, ‘Oh, you know that mixer in the Performance Studio? Oh, you know that turntable in the KPAC control room? Oh, do you remember that automation playlist?’ How grateful I was to get that casual greeting that was followed by news of a preemptive fix. I will miss Ruben’s determined intellect, but more than anything, his gentle demeanor. \u2014 Nathan Cone, VP of Programming<\/i><\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t matter if you knew him or not. If you ever met Ruben Garcia, you were his friend. This man of a gentle and kind soul, stood tall with a giant smile and firm handshake.<\/i><\/p>\n

Ruben started his radio career as a teenager and dedicated himself to doing whatever needed to be done at the radio station he worked at. Never turning down a shift or complaining, he seemed to be right at home either behind a microphone or working on equipment. Ruben could do it all. Although not an engineer, he could fix anything. He could write and produce commercials and promos. He would tailor his voice to fit any format. Heck, he would have made a great general manager had he pursued that.<\/i><\/p>\n

I have had the honor and pleasure to have to have known this wonderful person for nearly four decades. Every time I would hear his voice on Texas Public Radio, I\u2019d say out loud, \u201cRUBEN!\u201d as if he could hear or see me. I will miss his smile and gentleness. We should all have been blessed to have had the opportunity to spend time with Ruben O. Garcia.<\/i><\/p>\n

Rest well my friend.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tim D. McKee, President, Society of San Antonio Radio Broadcasters LLC<\/i><\/p>\n

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… Radio\u00e2\u0080\u0099s Vice President of Technology<\/span> and Operations, died on Tuesday … department, ascending to VP of Technology<\/span> and Operations in 2024, where … known to be handy with tech<\/span>, said Murnin, who called him … at TPR as VP of Technology<\/span>,\u00e2\u0080\u009d Allen said. He will be …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}