Ruben B Garcia

Ruben B Garcia obituary, Vienna, VA

Ruben B Garcia

Ruben Garcia Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Jul. 13, 2024.
Ruben Baltazar Garcia, of Vienna Virginia, known affectionately as Rubus to some and Benjie to others, passed away suddenly on June 29, 2024, at the age of 59 while visiting Rochester, New York.

Born in Manila, Philippines, he moved to the United States when he was very young and grew up in Rochester, New York. Ruben received a full ROTC scholarship to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and began his undergraduate work and Army ROTC commitment during which time he completed Airborne training. Four years later he was branch-commissioned as a second Lieutenant in the US Army Signal Corps, concurrent with his graduation from RIT where he earned a BS in Business Management. Ruben valued his service highly, and both his active duty and reserve service were spent as a member of the US Army's Special Operations Command, graduating during his service from the US Army Ranger and Air Assault Schools. As a junior officer, promoted through the ranks, he served with the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion "Airborne", US Army Rangers and was deployed to combat operations in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, while supporting a peacekeeping mission (IFOR) in Bosnia. Ruben completed his active duty holding the rank of Captain, advancing to the rank of Colonel in the Reserves; his decorations include campaign service metals, a presidential unit citation, the Bronze Star with Valor, and earning the coveted US Army Ranger TAB. Many years later in Northern Virginia he earned his MBA in Cybersecurity from Northcentral University; and his career outside of the military spanned over 30 years supporting federal government classified operations ranging from IT system integrations to facility construction both domestically and internationally.

Ruben was deeply committed to his family and loved his wife Jan and his son AJ profoundly. Ruben's love extended to his dog Maddie, and he could often be found walking her throughout the neighborhood. Known for his passion, not only in increasing his knowledge base but passing his knowledge onto others, he joined the local Cub Scouts Pack 1139 in Vienna with his son and then moved to Troop 987 as an Assistant Scoutmaster as AJ grew. He was active in his community, assisting many scouts achieve Eagle rank (like he did in his youth) as a merit badge counselor and trusted mentor, discovered hockey at a young age in Rochester and was the all-time leader in games played at Fairfax Ice Arena with over 1400 games to his credit, learned to play Saxophone during his school years and thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Vienna Volunteer Community Band, and was a dedicated martial artist whose love for Tang Soo Do inspired many students over the years. Wherever he went, Ruben was always ready with a smile, a laugh, and a movie quote.

He had many hobbies and cultivated them from a young age while growing up in Rochester. Among them were his passion for history, being a devoted follower of the Miami Dolphins, indulging his love of cars, maintaining his fish tank and koi pond, as well as working to beautify his garden for all to enjoy. He was also a member of the NRA and proud of his skills in marksmanship, and as a movie enthusiast his impersonations were extraordinary and brought joy and laughter to many.

Ruben is predeceased in death by his father, Ruben Garcia, Esq. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Jan, his son Alejandro Johnathan (AJ), his mother Enya and sister Enya (Dolly) both of Raleigh, North Carolina and sister Liza of Austin, Texas, in addition to an extended group of family and friends. His motto was to always strive for excellence. His family and friends have lost a wonderful light which will never be forgotten but should always be cherished.

Funeral arrangements and a celebration of life service are being coordinated through Money & King Funeral Home in Vienna, VA and more information will be shared as it becomes available.

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

Sign Ruben Garcia's Guest Book

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July 7, 2025

Jim Brand posted to the memorial.

July 25, 2024

Abha Pandey posted to the memorial.

July 24, 2024

Mike Fici posted to the memorial.

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.

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!

Single Memorial Tree

Jay R. Watkins

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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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Sign Ruben Garcia's Guest Book

Not sure what to say?

July 7, 2025

Jim Brand posted to the memorial.

July 25, 2024

Abha Pandey posted to the memorial.

July 24, 2024

Mike Fici posted to the memorial.