Hugo Saul Zabalza

February 5, 1971 - October 25, 2020

Hugo Saul Zabalza was the youngest of three boys to Socorro Hernandez Zabalza. He was born in San Diego California and as a young child moved with his family to Zapata, Texas. He moved to Austin, Texas graduating from Del Valle High School in 1989. His self-given nickname was Hurricane Hugo. After high school, Hugo worked in various capacities including as a recreational facilitator and office clerk. He most enjoyed his last position in facilities maintenance at Austin Community College where he worked for many years and enjoyed going to lunch with co-workers. Hugo was a quiet, introspective individual. He journaled about his daily activities and loved to draw, sketch and play video games. He had the best penmanship and would draft letters a few times to make sure he perfected the message. He was an avid Facebook user and enjoyed sharing his thoughts and activities with his Facebook friends. Hugo knew a lot about all of his favorite things. He learned as much as he could and loved to share trivia about: PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines), Star Wars, commercial and military aircraft, anything related to the city of San Diego, the San Diego Padres and the minor league baseball team - the El Paso Chihuahuas - just to name a few. Hugo was a thoughtful person. On Christmas Eve, he became “Poncho Clos” for the “guess my gift” game, where you’d have to spin the wheel for letters and vowels of a phrase that would describe the gift he gave you. You’d have to guess the phrase in order to get your gift. Although he was quiet and shy, Hugo was special to us all. He was very principled and stood up for what he thought was right. Hugo joins his mother, Socorro, and his brother, Gino in Heaven. He will be dearly missed on this Earth by his brother Clem, sister-in-law Lisette, Tia Amparo, several cousins, extended family, and his godchildren.