Joseph (Joe) Garcia |
| Posted 2017-07-12 by Sharla |
| The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ Wednesday, June 1, 2017 Joseph Grijalva Garcia Nov. 21, 1917 – June 16, 2017 The last Wickenburg original pioneer of the Garcia family, Joseph Grijalva Garcia, was called to heaven on Friday, June 16, 2017. Rosary will be conducted at David’s Desert Chapel Funeral Home 325 W. Yavapai St. from 6 – 9 p.m. Friday, June 23. Joseph’s final resting place is only fitting. He will be laid to rest in the Garcia Cemetery in Wickenburg following church services at St. Anthony’s on Saturday, June 24, at 9 a.m. ~~~~~ The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ Wednesday, July 12, 2017 We have lost the last Wickenburg original Pioneer of the Garcia family and the oldest Wickenburg native living in Wickenburg. Joseph Grijalva Garcia was called home to heaven on Friday, June 16, 2017. Joseph longed to be with the rest of his family in heaven and now he is celebrating with them as they welcome him home. After asking for his wife almost every day for many years he has finally joined her. May they both forever rest in peace together. Joseph, also known as Dad, Joe, Uncle, Uncle Joe, Tio, or Grandpa was born on November 21, 1917 in Wickenburg Ariz. Joseph was a man with a proud pioneer heritage. His grandparents, Ygnacio and Manuela Garcia, established the Garcia family ranch in the 1880s, and the family ranks high among pioneer benefactors of Wickenburg. Among many contributions they made, was the donation of the land where the Garcia Cemetery, the Little Red Schoolhouse, and the St. Anthony Church currently stand. Both the schoolhouse and the church sit in the center of town. Joseph lived and worked in San Diego as a welder instructor for the Navy after getting out of the army after World War II ended. On November 14, 1942 Joseph married his bride Marina “Minnie” Jaime. They were married for 59 years. The love they showed their family and each other was very special. After Minnie passed in 2001, Joseph visited her gravesite at the Garcia Cemetery every day to mourn her loss and remember the times they shared until he could no longer make the journey there. Theirs was a special love that many of us only dream of finding. The song lyrics of Kathy Mattea said it best, “Cause without her where would he be, she is his only need.” Joseph loved his family and friends dearly, from his morning coffee buddies Larry Fields, Jim and Steve who came every morning for years to take him for coffee and conversation, to the huge Gatherings Joseph and Minnie would hold at their home here in Wickenburg during Gold Rush days. Their home (which was built by his own hands along with the help of his brother Adolf and cousin Louie Ramirez in late 1940s) was more than a great place in the center of town on property owned by the Garcia family since the late 1800s, but it also was a place of many celebrations of the proud history of the Garcia family mixed with many reunions with family and friends from across the country. Great food, live music and stories of the past, and lots of laughter filled the air at the Garcia Homestead. Family Heritage was extremely important to Joseph and his legacy as demonstrated by his love for his siblings. Joseph and his sister Anita stood at the bedside of the “baby of the family”, Adolf “Doc” Garcia, as he took his final breath, just as they were at his side on the day he was born. Joseph came every day to see his sister Anita in her final days always quietly letting her know that he was there sitting in the corner of the room watching his sister until she left this Earth. This tradition of a caring family continued as Joseph left this world with his children and nieces at his side at home clearing the way for his journey to his family in heaven. In 2013 Joseph was an honorary Grand Marshal in the Wickenburg parade during Gold Rush days and he and his daughter Vivienne share that experience together representing proudly the Garcia name and Heritage. Joseph is preceded in his death by: His grandparents, Ygnacio and Manuela Garcia, his parents Rudolfo and Marcelina Garcia, sisters Vera Chetham and Anita Grijalva Garcia Jaime, Arthur Castro and Fred Quinonez, his loving wife Marina “Minnie” Garcia and his son “Joey” Garcia. Joseph is survived by his children, Vivian, George, and Larry, and his first grandchild, Marcy, who virtually became his fifth child; grandchildren Joseph and Cindy; his great-grandchildren, Derek, Jacob, Gabriel, Adrian, Isaac, Angelina, Karina, Joseph III, Larisa, and other nieces and nephews that adored him and loved him and many others whose lives were touched by Joseph. Rosary Services were conducted at David’s Desert Chapel Funeral Home on Yavapai St in Wickenburg on Friday June 23. Joseph’s final resting place is only fitting as he was laid to rest next to his wife Minnie in the Garcia Cemetery in Wickenburg following church services at St. Anthony’s on Saturday, June 24. See Also: Find A Grave |
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