Sara Garcia Obituary

Sara Amalia Suarez Garcia, better known as Sally, passed away on May 6, 2016 in Houston, Texas, from health complications. She was born on October 8, 1936 to Luis and Sara Suarez (both deceased) in the Bronx, New York; however, her Aunt Pura Maria Fernandez raised her in Santurce, Puerto Rico. At age 14 ½ she went back to New York and graduated from Brooklyn High School in 1955. At age 17, Sally enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. In 1956, she competed in the Miss Barksdale Pageant at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, where she met and married a young Air Force officer by the name of Juan G. Garcia. They were married for almost 60 years.

Sally was a loving and dedicated wife and mother who was proud to be a military spouse supporting Juan's 20-year Air Force career. She lovingly raised their five children while Juan was deployed all over the world, ensuring her young children never forgot their father during those deployments. Sally's children called her the "heart and soul" of the family; she raised them to be close to one another and taught them the importance of people skills. Her story as a stay-at-home mother who went back to work after raising her children was featured in a made-for-TV unscripted documentary in 1977 called "Sally Garcia and Family" by renown director and filmmaker, Joyce Chopra, as part of the "Role of Women in American Society" series. Sally's dream that all five children graduate from college came true in 1988, when their youngest graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy.

During Juan's Air Force and post-military careers, Sally followed him through seven moves across the U.S., finally settling in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She loved playing softball and became a certified bowling instructor and coach for her children's bowling leagues. Sally served on several community and state boards; she was a member of the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Advisory Council on Bilingual Education and a Commissioner on the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She also served as a State Commissioner and Delegate from Massachusetts to the national conference for the celebration of International Women's Year in 1977. She believed in giving back, as evidenced by her role as an Outreach-Placement Specialist for the Educational Opportunity Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. Sally and Juan moved to Colorado Springs in 1982 when Juan changed jobs. When their youngest daughter entered the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1984, Sally worked at the Cadet Store where she had an amazing impact every day on the cadets with her warm words, a smile, and a hug for any cadet that needed one. They also sponsored cadets, inviting them into their home. Years later, many cadets she met at the Cadet Store and sponsored shared how they remember her loving personality that brightened their time at the Academy. In the mid-1990's, Sally, with a little help from Juan, put together a cook book which she called, "Mom's Mexi-Rican Menu: Tex-Mex and Puerto Rican Recipes by Sally Garcia". Each of their children plus other relatives and close friends received printed copies of this treasured cook book with recipes they grew up with.

Sally is survived by her husband, Juan, of Colorado Springs, their five children: Amanda Garcia (Juan Valadez) of Houston; Linda Garcia Cubero of San Antonio; Juan J. Garcia (Kristen) of Washington DC; Luis R. Garcia of Taipei, Taiwan; and Mara Garcia (Mark) Smith of Herndon, Virginia; her six grandchildren: Juan M. Garcia, Jennifer Cubero (Jordan) Hess, Nicholus Garcia, Andres Garcia, Matthew Smith and Moriah Smith; and her 2 great-grandchildren, Jayden and Jax Hess. Her stepmother, Rosa Cruz Rodriquez; her brother, Luis Suarez; and her sisters, Rosa Elena and Carmen Nereida Suarez, all from Puerto Rico, also survive her. Sally's faith and love for her family were strong, and she will be missed for her loving and caring ways.