Obituaries

WWII veteran, 101-year-old Navy Veteran Rafael F. Garcia, died in his Fremont home, where he had resided since 1959, with his daughter, Cindy Bottero by his side.

Rafael enlisted in the Navy in July 1942 and was Honorably Discharged in March 1946. He spent 36 months at sea in the Pacific. His first ship, the USS Aludra AK-72 was torpedoed and sunk on 6/23/43 by a Japanese submarine. He spent the remainder of his tour on a Destroyer Minelayer, the USS Breese DM-18. He took great pride in serving in the Navy in several places such as the Philippines, Guadalcanal, Okinawa, Solomons, Gilberts, and even witnessed the raising of the two US flags on Iwo Jima from his ship.

When he married Pearl Souther in 1952, she had 3 kids from a previous marriage, Fred (Angela) Garza, John S. Garza, JoAnn (Dan) Garza Madrid, whom he raised as his own. Later, he had 4 more kids with Pearl: Cindy (Larry) Garcia Bottero, Ralph James (Milann) Garcia, Gerry (Gloria) Garcia, and Eric (Suzy) Garcia. Sadly, Pearl, John, & Gerry preceded him in death.

Eric stated, "I have a lot of fond memories of Dad making and fixing things perfectly; he had a knack for it as well as a strong work ethic which I am truly grateful for. He was a great role model for working hard, taking pride in your work, and family."

Rafael worked full-time at the Alameda Naval Air Station as a jet engine mechanic for 31 years and part-time as a mechanic in Hayward’s Sears Automotive Dept. Throughout Cindy’s life growing up, she remembers him working two jobs for years, with only one day off a week. He certainly came from the greatest generation. He never would give up and could always come up with a workaround solution to any problem. We just called them Garcia inventions. He loved kids, especially babies, and we’d often find him rolling around the floor playing with them. The three youngest boys played competitive soccer throughout their school years, and after Dad retired, he and Mom would make it a priority to watch them at their games. Both Mom and Dad were very creative, loved to draw, and paint holiday decorations on the windows during the holidays. With seven kids in the family and living on only one income, we didn’t have much money growing up, but I think we had much more, certainly everything we really needed.