Richard "Rick" Cyril Bernal

Richard Cyril Bernal was born on March 18, 1957, to Joe and Mary Esther Bernal at the Nix Hospital in San Antonio. He passed away unexpectedly on June 13, 2025.

Richard graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1975. He developed many artistic talents, primarily music-related, but also in comedy. His love of music emanated from his mother, who was an accomplished pianist and organist. She introduced Richard to classical music, operas and theater in his early years. His first role was as a little boy was in The King and I at the San Antonio Performing Arts Center. Richard excelled in playing many instruments, including the piano, saxophone, oboe and marimba.

Richard learned at an early age that he could make people laugh. He became an entertainer, much to the chagrin of his schoolteachers, some of whom he loved to impersonate to the delight of his classmates.  He developed a keen interest in CB radio in the 70’s and used the moniker “Peanut Vendor” to entertain his radio buddies. He found many friends he would meet at the Sambos restaurant at all hours of the night, where he eventually met his wife-to-be, Ellen McNichol.

After high school, he enrolled in the radio, theater and film department at San Antonio College, which catapulted him into radio as a professional disc jockey. He was first recruited by a radio station from Tucson, Arizona. He left home in his MGB midget with his loyal companion, Maclovio, an Irish Setter who occupied both the front and back seats as he drove away from home. His program manager in Tucson told Richard that his name was not Hispanic-sounding enough and suggested Rick Diego as his radio name, which Rick gladly adopted.

His stint in Tucson was short-lived as he was then recruited to Las Vegas, where he spent the next 10 years on radio. There, he honed his radio personality and became quite popular.

He earned his way to disc jockey heaven in Los Angeles, where he completed an accomplished career over the next 30 years. He married Ellen and they eventually had two beautiful boys, Benjamin and Nathan. One of Rick’s proudest career moments was when the judge presiding over the OJ Simpson trial displayed a coffee mug in the courtroom from Rick’s radio station, KBIG, while the trial was being televised.

Rick never forgot his roots in San Antonio. He incorporated a dedication call-in show at KBIG as part of the Saturday night disco show, a feature he learned and loved to participate in as a teenager in San Antonio. His call-in show was so popular KBIG became the No. 1 station in LA, much to the amazement and delight of Rick’s station manager.

Rick became a huge Lakers fan during the Kobe and Shaq years and loved to antagonize Spurs fans, especially his Dad. He later became a big fan of the Spurs after he returned home in 2012 to care for his parents. Rick worked briefly at KONO 101 before he retired.

Rick was a very happy man before his life abruptly ended. He had many friends, including alumni from Jefferson high school, radio and television friends from San Antonio and beyond, close and extended family, and his life partner Sandra Sanchez, all of whom he loved deeply.  Rick was passionate about life, his relationships with family, friends, live music, politics, Dallas Cowboys (mostly in distress in recent years) and caring for feral cats, racoons and opossums in the neighborhood.

He is survived by his former wife Ellen McNichol, his sons Benjamin (Lauren) and Nathan, grandsons Brandon, Luke and Leo, his brother Patrick (Elisa) and sister Rebecca (Robert), numerous nieces and nephews and his beloved life partner, Sandra Sanchez. He is predeceased by his parents, Joe and Mary Esther Bernal, brother Barney and niece Bianca Ambriz.

Services: Rosary, Sunday, June 29, 2025, public viewing at 5 pm followed by a rosary at 6 pm; funeral mass at Mission Concepcion on Monday, June 30, 2025, at 10 am followed by burial at San Jose Burial Park.