John Garcia

1944 - 2020

John Claude Garcia
Sept. 28, 1944 - Nov. 23, 2020
John Claude Garcia passed away, at home and in peace, after a long illness. It was about as close to what he would have wished for, absent of having been on a river catching that one last big fish.

John was born in a bomb shelter in Oslo, Norway when his family, a renowned Circus family (the Theron Troupe), was trapped behind enemy lines. After WWII, the family emigrated to the U.S. and continued to perform before settling down in Sarasota, FL when John was a teenager. His early life on the road, immersed in the tightknit community of the circus, forever influenced him, and he applied the values he took from these times (the importance of family, integrity and fortitude) to his work and relationships for the rest of his life.
Happiest when he was outdoors surrounded by critters rather than people and crowds, he found his particular "calling" in the field of Systems Ecology. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school, and then college, eventually receiving his MS from the University of Washington. He always recognized the importance of higher learning and the opportunities it afforded to him and continued to mentor and support others with similar dreams and aspirations.
He was co-founder of BioSystems Analysis, Inc., a natural resources consulting firm with projects and clients throughout the West Coast and, eventually, Nepal. After leaving BioSystems, he formed Garcia and Associates (aka "GANDA"). GANDA grew to be a mid-sized firm – scrappy and good at what it did – just like its founder. John felt that one of his biggest lasting accomplishments was his environmental assessment and in-country training work on hydro projects in Nepal and SE Asia. He was also deeply proud of GANDA and the "family" he assembled across CA, HI, MT and Guam.
John loved well and it was reciprocated. He once said that he was a hard man to love, and a hard man not to love. The latter statement was the more accurate of the two. John is survived by his son Dylan Garcia (Felicity Garcia, mother), daughter Corvidea Wallace (Cody Wallace, mother), daughter Kimo Garcia (Carol Sloan, mother), his wife Carole Garcia and their daughter Margaux Garcia, and his ex-wife Pam Spinelli. He is also survived by his grandchildren Angela (Kimo), Elrond and Raphael (Dylan and Ronise), and his sisters Mireille Arnosi, Ninette Parker, Maria ("Rocio") Garcia and Mari-Sol Jones, and beloved cousins, nieces and nephews. As a testament to his strength of character, his past loves continued to be important parts of his life – and to each other, resulting in a complex, but loving, web of extended family.
John's second strongest love – sometimes possibly eclipsing his first – was his passion for fishing and the outdoors. For him, it was spiritual and all-encompassing and took him to all parts of the world.
Due to COVID, a celebration of his life will be scheduled at a time when it is possible to come together and freely give, and receive, hugs.
Our utmost thanks and appreciation go to Dr. Jennifer Lucas and her team at Marin Cancer Care and Hospice by the Bay.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your favorite environmental organization or group fostering education opportunities for disadvantaged youth. And... take time to pause, look around you and witness something of beauty and then think of John.