Josue “Joe” Robles Jr., who served nearly three decades in the U.S. military — rising to become a two-star general before taking the top job at USAA — died Thursday, the company announced. He was 78 years old.
Robles oversaw the largest period of growth in USAA history by opening up eligibility to all those who served honorably in the military and their family members. A focus on innovation during his tenure made the company an early mover in mobile banking technology, including being the first to offer check deposits via mobile phone.
“With nearly three decades of service in the military, which included multiple deployments and several distinguished honors, Joe knew what it meant to serve,” USAA President and CEO Wayne Peacock wrote in an email announcing his death to employees. on Thursday afternoon. “Joe’s experience as an enlisted soldier gave him unique insight into the needs of the military community and their families.”
The soft-spoken Robles was beloved by many employees for his low-key management style and gentle humor. He announced his retirement to a packed USAA auditorium that now bears his name and will “stand as a reminder of his selfless service to our country and the impact he had on USAA and so many of us as individuals.” wrote Peacock.
“It’s not often that people love their CEO, but people loved Joe,” said Eileen Collins, a retired NASA astronaut and Air Force colonel who served on USAA’s board of directors from 2008-2022. .
No cause of death was given, but in 2019, Robles revealed he had Parkinson’s disease, an incurable neurodegenerative disease. According to a story by the San Antonio Express-News at the time, Robles told a meeting at San Antonio’s Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital that he wasn’t diagnosed until after his retirement, but suspected he had the condition for several years. .
He went public with his diagnosis to help others, he said at the time.
“Joe touched a lot of lives and accomplished a lot,” former San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros said Friday. “He’s so demonstrative of American history,” from working with his father making bricks “to commanding one of the most distinguished divisions of the United States Army as a general, then becoming the CEO of one of the most respected in the United States. I doubt there is another place on Earth where this can happen.”
Robles “was not only a great military man, organizing USAA, he also had a great love for the community,” said retired Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, who recalled that Robles’ predecessor opposed Wolff’s efforts to pass a connection that would finance. improvements to the San Antonio River, the then-AT&T Center, amateur sports parks, and the creation of what would become the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.
“And then when Robles came in, he supported it, put up $50,000, and we passed all four major issues,” Wolff said. “So I was very grateful that he came.”
Mayor Ron Nirenberg posted on Thursday X that Robles “earned the trust and respect of those who knew him because he was a force for progress in everything he attempted. From business to veterans affairs and education, he exemplifies a life of selfless service, answering the call at the local and national level time and time again.”
After several overseas tours and a stint as the commanding general of the First Infantry, also known as the “Big Red One,” Robles was eventually promoted to major general and named budget director for the Army.
He began serving on USAA’s board of directors while on active duty, and began his career there in 1994 after retiring as special assistant to the chairman. Robles later became the banking and insurance giant’s chief financial officer and controller, then served as corporate treasurer and chief administrative officer before becoming CEO in 2007. He retired in 2015.
Humble beginnings
Robles was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico in 1946, the oldest of nine children whose parents received only a fourth- and ninth-grade education. His family moved to Ohio when Robles was young so his father could work in a steel mill, which he did for the next 35 years.
“I knew I wanted enough education to have a choice,” he said in a biography by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, which honored Robles in 2011. “I worked in the mill one summer and learned very quickly what a hot, dirty, dangerous place. I wore an asbestos suit and shoveled slag. Hot does not describe that work. It made me go to school and get a good education so I wouldn’t have to work there. I always admired my father for doing this for so many years.”
He enrolled in community college after high school and took a job at a NASA nuclear power plant, with plans to become a doctor. But when he quit teaching part-time, “Uncle Sam found out about me,” he said in a 2014 interview with Hispanic Executive.
Robles entered the Army as an enlisted soldier, but was placed in a program that put non-college graduates into Officer Training School. He later earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Kent State University and an MBA from Indiana State University.
During his 28-year military career, Robles served in command and staff positions in Korea, Vietnam and Germany, as well as at the Pentagon.
Robles deployed the 1st Calvary Division from what is now Fort Cavazos for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, according to the Express-News. For his service, Robles received the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster.
During his time at USAA and after his retirement, Robles was an active civic member of the community. He served on the boards of directors of the San Antonio branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System and CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital Foundation, the San Antonio Municipal Early Childhood Education Development Corporation and the Way of United of San Antonio and Bexar County.
He served as chair of the P16Plus Council of the Greater Bexar County Foundation, was appointed to serve on the Advisory Committee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs MyVA, and the Advisory Board of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Latin American Law at the University of Texans. Robles served as co-chair of the Pre-K 4 SA initiative and on Gordon Hartman’s SOAR board, which oversees Morgan’s Wonderland.
Robles and his wife Patty had three children, Melissa, Andrew and Christopher.
Christopher, who has autism, “changed my life,” Robles said in his biography of Horatio Alger. “It opened my eyes to people with special needs. He brings out the best in me and is the blessing of my life.”
In his email to employees Thursday, Peacock said Robles’ legacy “will continue to guide our great association as we strive to uphold the values he championed.”
Phil Hardberger, who served as San Antonio mayor during Robles’ tenure as CEO, said Robles sat on an advisory committee of business leaders that he used as a sounding board.
He called Robles one of the “most humble and personable generals I’ve ever met” and said his story — “growing up poor and Hispanic, very likely against him” — is one that many San Antonians can relate to. to understand and be proud. e.
“I’m glad I got to know him and I’m glad he lived and worked in San Antonio.”