FRANK B. GARCIA

1934 - 2018

BORN

1934

DIED

2018

FUNERAL HOME

Frye Chapel Mortuary & Crematory - Brawley

799 South Brawley Avenue

Brawley, California

FRANK GARCIA Obituary

Name: Visitation for FRANK B. GARCIA
Start: 2018-08-06T01:00:00.000Z
Location: Frye Chapel Mortuary & Crematory - Brawley

Frank B. Garcia, 83, of Riverside, CA, passed away on Thursday, July 19, 2018. He was born September 12, 1934 in Brawley, CA. He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Dolores Garcia. He worked as an Air Traffic Controller Specialist for the Federal Aviation Administration for 30 years, and in his spare time enjoyed wood working and maintaining his beloved 1951 Ford, Lu. Frank is survived by his son, Daniel Garcia (Angelica) of Brawley, CA; daughters, Patricia Amsbry (Robbie) of San Bernardino, CA, Monica Johnson (Daniel) of Las Vegas, NV, Stephanie Garcia (Jonathan Wells) of San Diego, CA; brother, Gonzalo Garcia of San Juan Capistrano; grandchildren, Annelise Alvarado (Enoch), Amber Hosmer (Jake), Anthony Garcia, Vanessa Garcia, Haylee Johnson, Daniela Johnson, Gabriela Garcia, Alexandria Amsbry, Valentina Wells, Maya Wells; great-grandchildren, Lola Alvarado, Ezequiel Alvarado, Nathan Garcia, Andrew Garcia. Visitation will be held on Sunday, August 5, 2018, at 6 p.m. at Frye Chapel and Mortuary in Brawley, with Rosary being said at 7 p.m. Service will be held on Monday, August 6, 2018, at 8 a.m. at St. Margaret Mary Church in Brawley. Burial will immediately follow at Riverview Cemetery in Brawley.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Imperial Valley Press Online from Aug. 1 to Aug. 2, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for FRANK GARCIA

Sponsored by Frye Chapel Mortuary & Crematory - Brawley.

5 Entries

August 7, 2018

Another Pillar has gone home.
I guess I knew Pancho & Lola Garcia since I was an infant. They have been best friends and Compadres with my parents for over 50-55 years. Their house on K street across from El Progresso Mkt. and the Convent what is now The Clinicas De Salud Offices; the house was basically our second home.
My dad & Pancho kept El Progresso open & it usually revolved around mechanic work on my dads '63 Ford Pick-up & Olympia & Coors. That usually led to a BBQ of some sort into the wee hours.
I never realized how much Pancho loved airplanes. But he was very unique & spontaneous with things that sparked an interest. Of course, he was a great mechanic during his Valley Auto days. His little mechanic shack in his backyard was his "domain"....oil & grease slicks from wall to wall included. And the "co-op" boat for Salton Sea fishing. Did you ever see 35 or 40 Orange Mouth Corvina between 5 & 9 or 10lbs? No fish story!! They'd start up the fire & grill & cook Corvina for fish tacos while we cleaned fish all night. I don't remember Pancho with an ear-to-ear smile like that except when he was fishing. What a life-what memories.
How about the Ping-Pong table? Not sure if that was around the Nixon "Détente" when Nixon went to China? Anyway, Pancho played Ping-Pong too.
Pancho was very involved with his kids too. Daniel had a paper-route and played ball. And he delivered his route after school. So I know Pancho showed his kids a bit of business sense 50/50 'win-win' style. I know it was Panchos idea to have Daniel pay Monica to fold his newspapers for a fee, that way the papers were ready when Daniel got home. Just cool, smart little things like that that I remember.
Weekends also included the Dunes and a crazy Fluorescent Yellow dune buggy. So many memories of the Superstition Mountains and chasing down an old Jet that had gone down and crashed somewhere out there.
The Garcias relocated with Panchos new job with the Federal Aviation Admin to a place called "Ely", Nevada. Communication between us wasn't the same. I remember thinking it would never be the same. Daniel was like the coolest Brother to me. Kool as a Cucumber "Brawley" style. I remember a move to Salinas, then Las Vegas & finally Riverside. I lived with the Garcias for almost a year in Las Vegas. I was getting in trouble back home and I didn't have any goals. They treated me like family and along with that came discipline. Lola was tough but factual, fair and cool. They set me straight and taught me many things.
Daniel had-had enough of the noise of the big city and moved back to drive trucks with Tommy Funez. Daniel was always a "homeboy" and Brawley was home.
I went to the University in Loma Linda, CA. Pancho & Lola lived in Riverside. I was living with my Compa George and another roommate ("Topo") from the Valley in a house in Grand Terrace which is directly West of Loma Linda. I remember getting a call from Lola one afternoon. Pancho was having liver problems and she was asking for nutritional advice. She wanted to meet and go over a plan, etc. So I made Pancho a packet with all the information, ideas & reasons and what items to avoid in his diet, etc. and invited them over one morning. I know it was during the week because I had class that day. They arrived about 7am. My Compa George & Topo were already gone. I was pretty-much a coffee fiend in those days and made a pot of some special brew. Lola was all cool sitting at the table with chancklas and a lighter blue bathrobe! She was laughing & cordial as always. I was just happy to see & talk to them. Lola drank coffee & asked for re-fills.
So we reviewed Compa Panchos plan. I recall it was about 45min - 1hr. Pancho, being the inquisitive person that he was, asked if there was anywhere in particular where he could learn all he could about liver disease. He didn't want numbers, formulas or calculations, he wanted to know how & why it worked the way it did. I brought out a few of the textbooks from the university I had used over those past 3 years. He thumbed through them, etc. He asked if he could borrow them if at all possible. Of course I was more than happy to highlight & bookmark pages in every volume for him. I sent them freight to him because these were huge books about 7 or 8 of them. He kept them for almost a year. I believe he used the books to study & learn about the disease and manage it while he also accessed information off the web and learned all he could. Lola mentioned how he had his meals, Protein servings and all foods down to an art. And this is what was most intriguing about Compa Pancho. In those days, research was coming about that a damaged liver could regenerate itself under optimal conditions. Without doubt, this is what Compa Pancho accomplished. That was 20 years ago! This was unheard of in Liver Disease, etc. That's the kind of man he was, very methodical, logical & common sense with that quiet perspective interspersed with crazy jokes.
I'll miss you Compa (for sure), but now you and my dad can serenade Comadre Lola and dance an eternal Cumbia "Salon Hidalgo" style.
May the Lord accept you with open arms and may you Rest In Peace.
Thank you for everything.

Connie Hampel

August 4, 2018

We loved you and Lola very much dear friend. May you rest in peace together for eternity.

a loved one

Sent Flowers

Natasha Ippolito

Sent Flowers

Andrea Bortner

August 1, 2018

Dear Cousins, We are so sorry for the loss of your father, he was a wonderful man and great Tio! We have many lovely memories of both of your folks that we will cherish forever. Unfortunately, Blake and I just can't make the services, but please know that we are thinking of all of you with moth love. ~Andie and Blake

Showing 1 - 5 of 5 results