A funeral mass was offered May 13 at Holy Family Church for Esther Garcia, 92, wife, mother and matriarch of the Garcia Family. She died peacefully on May 9 at home surrounded by her family. She was born in Santiago de Cuba to Jose Perez and Matilde Tamayo. She married Edilberto Garcia and, being the strong minded and resolute woman that she was, chose to leave her homeland in 1963 and raise her children in a free country. She escaped Cuba with her nine children and came to her adopted homeland, the United States of America, in 1964.
“Heroes are everyday people who, in times of need and difficulty, find within themselves the strength, guided by clarity of mind, to accomplish extraordinary feats. Esther Garcia was our family’s hero,” her family said at the time of her passing. “Esther always believed that you could be anything you wanted to be as long as you had an education, a strong work ethic, and the love and support of family. She instilled these values in her nine children, who in turn instilled them in their children. She willed us all, young and old, to care continuously for each other. It was always this passionate mandate that bound us together us a family and that will become her enduring legacy.”
She is survived by her sisters, Irma Cabrera and Martha Perez; husband, Edilberto; her nine children and their spouses: Graciela and Jose “Pepito” (deceased) Perez, Edilberto “Papi” and Onilda (deceased) Garcia, Jose Manuel “Pepin” and wife, Tania Garcia, Emigdio “Nene” and wife Rosy Garcia, Georgina “La Nena” and her husband Guillermo Navarro, Edmundo “Mundo” and wife Yolanda Garcia, Elena Garcia, Francisco “Frank” and wife Gladys Garcia, and Rafaela Garcia. Esther is also survived by her 17 grandchildren and 16 greatgrandchildren: Jose Antonio and Carrie and their child, Alexandra, Alejandro, Maria Magdalena and her children, Katherine “Katie” and Sean, Karina, Tanita and Alex and their children, Gabriella and Carolina, Jose “Pepi” and wife, Annie and their child, Jose M. III, Emigdio Jr. “Emi” and his children, Brandon and Andee, Melissa and her husband, Steve and their children, Abigail, Julia, and Amelia, Monica, Veronica and George, Rebecca (deceased) and Jim and their daughter, Madeleine Grace (deceased), Le’Shel and Louie, Frank Jr., Frances and Roberto “Tico” and their son, Robert Oliver “TJ”. Esther was predeceased by her sister, Concepcion “Conchita” Perez; her son-in-law, Jose “Pepito” Perez; her granddaughter, Rebecca Garcia Forward and her great-granddaughter, Madeleine Grace Forward. Services arranged by the Leber Funeral Home, Union City.