Alfred "Al" Garcia

Alfred “Al” Garcia passed away in Fresno, CA on July 29, 2019 at the age of 92. He was born in Sanger, California. During World War II, he left Sanger at the age of 15 and moved north to work as a welder in the Kaiser Shipyards of Richmond, CA. Although he was underage, his supervisor; impressed by his exemplary work ethic; kept him on after he promised to attend high school at night. After the war, he returned to Sanger and worked as a barber in his Uncle Fidel’s barbershop until age 21 when he enlisted in the US Army. Rising from the rank of Private to Lt. Colonel, he served with the 82nd Airborne Division--a unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps—at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and closed his military career with the Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Accompanied by his family, his served military tours in Kansas, North Carolina, Virginia, the Middle East, and France. He enjoyed taking his family on road trips to Paris on Bastille Day, Italy, Spain, the 1964 New York World’s Fair, Washington DC, and Ocean City, MD. A veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, he earned several medals including the Bronze Star for heroic/meritorious achievement in a combat zone. He retired from military service in 1972 and commenced a family road trip across the US where he settled into civilian life in Fresno, CA.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Hortensia “Hortie” Garcia, to whom he was married for 51 years, his parents, and his only sibling, Gilbert Garcia of Sanger. He is survived by his daughter Rosemary Garcia of Upper Marlboro, MD; son Edward Garcia of Palmdale, CA; son & daughter-in-law Robert & Connie Garcia of Fresno; and oldest son Lt. Paul Garcia (USN-Ret.) of Poquoson, VA. He is also survived by grandsons Jeremy Garcia, Daniel Cruz, Philip Garcia, and Stephen Garcia, great-grandson Michael Garcia, and many more nieces and nephews. He was a loving husband and family man. He will be very much missed and never forgotten for his dry wit, generosity, and kindness to others.

The Visitation will be on Friday, August 2nd from 4 pm to 7 pm at the Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home. www.whitehurstsullivan.com. Funeral services will be on Saturday, August 3rd, at 11 am, at the Cornelia Ave. Southern Baptist Church, www.casbc.net. Burial services with Honor Guard will follow at the Belmont Memorial Park. Remembrances may be made in in Al's memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014. www.michaeljfox.org/donate.