Brownsville attorney, Texas Southmost College trustee Ruben Herrera dies

Ruben Herrera

Ruben Herrera, the Brownsville criminal defense attorney and Texas Southmost College trustee who championed TSC’s community college role, died over the weekend while on vacation in Madrid, Spain.

Family members said Herrera, 63, died in the early morning hours of Sunday in Europe while on a trip with his brother-in-law Octavio Olivares as the two were falling asleep at their hotel.

Herrera was an avid traveler who often made motorcycle trips across the United States and Mexico. This trip, though, was via traditional means, a flight to Spain and then travel by car, longtime friend and fellow attorney Hector Garza said.

Herrera and Garza had been friends since about 1985 and went back into motorcycling between 2007 and 2009, Garza said.

“He was fun to be around. He was always happy, always looking for things to do, and like he said, ‘I like to work hard because I like to play hard.’ So when he was working, he was working hard. He was the guy that gets up at six in the morning, starts seeing clients, goes to court and works until six or seven in the afternoon and if a client would call, he would go back to the office. But he worked hard.” Garza said

“He went all over the place. He went to India. He went to the Orient. He went to many places. Europe, South America … all the way to the Patagonia,” on a two-part motorcycle trip, Garcia said.

Herrera was was born in Chicago but grew up in Brownsville. He attended school here and in Matamoros.

“In fifth or sixth grade his family came back and he was going to school in Brownsville at first, but then his father decided, I want you to learn Spanish correctly so I’m going to send you to school in Matamoros,” Garza said.

Herrera married at a young age and had two children by the time Texas Southmost College took him in as a non-traditional student with not even a GED.

He went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from Texas Southern University and to lead his own successful Brownsville law firm, according to the announcement of his passing that TSC posted on Facebook.

Herrera was elected to the TSC Board of Trustees in 2016. Board Chairwoman Adela Garza said he ran for all the right reasons.

“He was the epitome of a grateful alumni that had taken what was given to him at TSC and made the best of it. What he made of himself he wanted to give it to the other students, because he would prove to you that you didn’t even need a GED to come to TSC,” she said

“It is so sudden. It is so sad. He was not done. … His first term was six years and he did nothing but fight for TSC,” she said of his passing.

According to the announcement on Facebook, Herrera was an active community leader, serving on the boards of the Texas Southmost College Foundation, Tip of Texas Family Outreach, Community Development Corporation, Brownsville Economic Development Corporation, Brownsville Housing Authority, Cameron Works, and Brownsville Visitors and Convention Bureau. He was also a graduate of Leadership Brownsville, Class IX, where he served as Junior Leadership Brownsville Chair, the announcement stated.

Herrera is survived by his mother Socorro Alvarado; father Ruben Herrera Ramos; wife Marvella Herrera; two daughters, Edna Herrera Dinsdale and husband Justin; and Ada Herrera Flores and husband Elliott; and three grandchildren, Alexis, Patrick and Natalia.

Funeral arrangements are through Funeraria Del Angel Buena Vista pending transportation of his body from Spain.

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