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Jim Brand
July 7, 2025
Ruben was a friend I never met in person. We met on email and shared so many things in common. Had we met in person he would be a friend for life. I miss "talking" to him. May God bless his soul.
Abha Pandey
July 25, 2024
I met Ruben through the Vienna community band, and I remember walking out of practice in tears from laughing because of how many jokes he cracked. Ruben and the section welcomed me with open arms in the band and I will always be grateful to him for the kindness and the laughs he shared. He taught me to never take life too seriously and always joke around because we all need to laugh. But, the only time I would say I argued with him was when it came to football. We brought back the dolphins Niners rivalry to band practice even though I´m sure the players on both teams did not care about the rivalry as much as Ruben and I argued.
I aspire to be half the musician Ruben was. He would start soloing and one would want to just stop and listen, he played the saxophone so beautifully. He always had a smile on his face at band practice no matter what happened. And I learned a lot from him as a musician and as a human being.
It has been a huge honor being his bandmate for the past year and a half. He will be dearly missed.
Mike Fici
July 24, 2024
A constant smile since the 5th grade.
Susan Snow
July 23, 2024
Some people will live in your memory forever - frozen in time. Ruben is one of those people. In my mind's eye, he is still sitting at the front desk, smiling with that somewhat crooked smile, cracking a joke or delivering a voice impression of someone I was suppose to recognize. If he's not at the front desk, then he's playing sax in the holiday band - encouraging people to sing (even though we all had questionable voices.) I remember when he orchestrated the band to play Take Me Home Country Roads for me because I told him I enjoyed this vacation my husband and I took in WVA white water rafting. He, of course, made me sing too (scary for everyone.) He was the first to volunteer to help. The first to pull people together and lead the effort for a good cause. And the first to be there when you needed a boost up. I guess the angels must have needed to call another angel home to play sax in their band because otherwise this just doesn't make sense. Ruben was respected as a co-worker, valued as a team player, and loved just because there is/was no one like Ruben. Thank you for sharing him with us. We will always remember.
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Shelly R Dotson
July 22, 2024
Ruben, it was a pleasure to get to work with you couple of years. Your wittiness and smile were always welcome during my crazy days! I am sad that God took you so soon but we will see each other again, my friend. RIP!
Jay Watkins
July 17, 2024
Colonel Ruben Garcia was a patriot, a wonderful family man, and work colleague. I had the pleasure of working with him for ten years. He was always positive, humble, and generous, with a quick wit and great sense of humor. He also played a mean saxophone. He had high morals and standards for himself and his kids. He taught his children positive values, to respect this country, set aspirational goals, work hard to achieve them, and to be persistent. He was a great role model. His son was inducted as an Eagle Scout last year, following in his Dad's footsteps. It's not easy to achieve that status in scouting. Ruben was also an elite Army Ranger and led a fighting unit in Desert Storm. The dropout rate for Ranger school is 50% and includes intense training that taxes both mental and physical stamina. But that was Ruben, setting his goals high and achieving them through hard work and dedication. He reminisced about his father's tough life in the Philippines under Japanese occupation in WW2 and how that family history taught him to be so grateful to live in America. Ruben left us too soon. He will be greatly missed.
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