Longtime political and community advocate Ray Madrigal has died at the age of 83.
According to family members, Madrigal died Monday, Sept. 22, after losing his battle with leukemia.
Madrigal served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962. Once he was discharged, he returned to the Coastal Bend, where he ran several businesses, including a photography studio, before retiring in 2002.
He graduated from Del Mar College and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and was part of the 5th class of Leadership Corpus Christi in 1977.
He was best known for his political advocacy. Madrigal founded the Corpus Christi Coffee Club in 1991, which often met at Rosita's Mexican Restaurant on Morgan Avenue, across the street from what was then known as Memorial Medical Center. The Coffee Club was a forum to inform the Hispanic community about local political issues. Members invited local politicians to speak about issues affecting their communities.
In his later years, Madrigal served as a municipal court judge in Seadrift, Texas, and ran for several offices, including Corpus Christi mayor, Corpus Christi City Council, Texas Governor, and the 27th U.S. Congressional District.
Madrigal was a well-known voice for the westside community.
Guardian Funeral Home is arranging his services.
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