Martha Miriam Garcia

Born in El Salvador on May 29, 1939, to Aminta Vega Valencia and Alfonso Rico Quinteros, she spent her childhood in San Salvador and was raised by her beloved mother. By the age of 14, Martha was working as an office clerk and attending a business program to become a secretary. Standing at a bus stop one day, she met the man (then a 15-year-old teenager) who would later become her husband, Dr. Antonio Garcia-Carrillo. They married on June 28, 1959, and began their family later that year. They remained happily married until Dr. Garcia’s death in 2022 and had nine children together.

From the beginning of their relationship, Martha supported her husband’s career in pediatric medicine. Together, they moved for his work to Atiquizaya, El Salvador, and in 1968, she immigrated (along with their first six children) to the United States to join Dr. Garcia in Denver, Colorado, where he was completing an internship at Mercy Hospital. Subsequent moves took the family to San Antonio, Texas (where Martha worked in a coat factory, using the seamstress skills she had learned from her mother), to Austin, and finally to Houston in October 1973, where she set up a home that has served as the central hub for the Garcia family for 51 years.

As her family grew, Martha worked hard to develop her own skill sets and to integrate into American culture. Alongside the demands of her growing family, she obtained her GED from Bellaire High School in May 1976, learned shorthand, and learned English through classes and soap operas. When Dr. Garcia opened his private practice, Clinica Pediatrica, in 1977, she became his office manager. She successfully ran and helped grow his practice for 40 years, until their retirement together.

Throughout her life, Martha was deeply engaged in several professional, social, and charitable organizations. She attended Salvadorian American Medical Society meetings with her husband, supported educational initiatives in El Salvador, and was very active in a Houston-based Hispanic women’s friendship group, Asociación Femenina Salvadoreña (AFESAL), which also informally pursued philanthropic endeavors. A committed Catholic, she volunteered regularly with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, as well as for ministries at her long-time church, St. Albert of Trapani Catholic Church.

The guiding lights of Martha’s life were her faith and her family. In addition to her nine children, she was a loving grandmother to 14 grandchildren. For decades, her home has been filled every Sunday with family gathered for lunch at “Mami’s house.” She made sure everyone was fed, be it with a feast of pupusas and pan dulce, or steaming pots of meats, rice, and beans. And while Martha and her large family lived on a tight budget, she found true wealth and joy in her relationships. She shared her love for movies, dancing, and music, and always – always -- sang along with mariachis, happily standing front and center alongside the performers. Martha additionally loved to travel, and with her husband she enjoyed trips to Russia, Spain, Italy, Hawaii, and Jerusalem, where they were re-baptized in the Dead Sea and renewed their vows at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Martha is preceded in death by her husband, Antonio, her oldest daughter, Ana Cecilia Garcia, and her oldest son, Rafael Antonio Garcia. She is survived by her other devoted children: Elizabeth Garcia, Hugo Garcia, Martha Moon, Patricia Gassmann, Laura Manske, Eva Imperial, and Eric Garcia; grandchildren: Candace Garcia, Allison and Jacob Gassmann, Carter, Andrew, and Christopher Moon, Reed and Sarah Manske, Marisa and Ethan Garcia, and Olivia, Mia, Sabrina and Nicolas Imperial; in-laws: Dean Moon, Dwayne Gassmann, Craig Manske, Sidney Imperial, Laura Achenbaum, and Dominique Moon; extended family members located in the U.S., El Salvador and Australia; doting nieces and nephews; Jeff Hennis, who she loved as a son; and lifelong friends.

On Friday, May 31, 2024, from 5:00-8:00pm, there will be a viewing, reception, and praying of the rosary held at Forest Park Westheimer Funeral Home (12800 Westheimer Rd.). A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Albert of Trapani Catholic Church (11027 S. Gessner Road). In lieu of flowers, please donate in her name to a charity of your choice.