Roberto Mata

Sergeant Major (US Army retired) Roberto Mata, 93, passed away on March 13th, 2023, in Sun City, AZ. He was originally from Mercedes, Texas and served his country for almost 30 years in uniform. His military service started with the National Guard unit in Mercedes with the Texas 49th Armored Division. He attained the rank of first sergeant when the unit was activated during the Berlin Crisis and ordered to active duty at Fort Polk, LA where he served for 1 year. He was recognized as an outstanding senior non-commissioned officer. After release from active duty, he pursued a military career and enlisted in the regular army. He served as a US army recruiter and retention NCO for 22 years where he attained the rank of Sergeant Major, the top enlisted rank in the US Army. He became an icon serving with the US Army Recruiting Command serving in the Rio Grande Valley, TX, Houston, TX and Oklahoma City, OK. Some of his decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Professional Development Medal, and also the Coveted Gold Recruiters Badge plus many other awards and letters of commendations. Roberto or Bob (Beto), as friends and family called him, enjoyed life to its fullest. He loved the camaraderie and friendship with the veterans of the American Legion Post 29 in Glendale, AZ and the American Legion Post 172 in Mercedes, TX. His words of wisdom and tall tales will live on the lives of those he has encountered in his adventures. Above all, he loved his family and would travel extensively to spend time with nieces, nephews, and siblings. Everyone knew when Uncle Beto was in town. Roberto was preceded in death by his dear wife, Laura Mata, and his youngest daughter, Leticia Jean Mata, as well as his parents, Amalia and Refugio Mata, and siblings, Rodolfo Mata, Josepha De Los Santos, Gonzalo Mata, Francis Covacevich, and Mary Goolsby . He leaves behind his daughters Cynthia Mata Dailey (Michael), Amalia Mata Pena, and Deborah Mata Headley (Kyle) as well as eight grandchildren, Jaime Garcia (Laura), Alfredo Aguilar (Samantha), Daniel Garcia, Roberto Aguilar, Erica Pena, Leticia Headley, Robert Pena (Evy), and Kasey Headley and five great-grandchildren. His remaining siblings include Bertha Shotwell (John), Martha Segura (Joe), Jose Israel Mata (Mary), Juan Manuel Mata (Olga), and Luis Mata plus dozens of nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews. The words of Ralph Waldo Emerson perfectly capture the life of Roberto Mata! The purpose of life is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well, THAT’S OUR DAD