Guillermo "Billy" Garcia

Guillermo "Billy" Garcia, 71, passed away on August 15, 2015 in Austin, TX. Born March 14, 1944 in Mexico City to Guillermo and Tayde Garcia, Billy grew up and graduated with a degree in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Billy traveled the world competing in water ski tournaments, which is how he met his wife of 48 years, Linda Lloyd Garcia. Billy and Linda were well known to many Austinites for their popular and award winning, Pinch-A-Pollo Restaurant.

Billy is survived by the love of his life, wife Linda; daughter and son-in-law Monica and Danny Munoz; son Billy; grandsons Zane and Zachary; sister and brother-in-law Tayde and Pepe Ramirez of Cuernavaca; brother Carlos Garcia of Cuernavaca; in-laws Donald and Geraldine, Billy and Jerry Lloyd. Billy loved his numerous nieces and nephews of Cuernavaca and Austin. Graveside service at 10am on Friday, August 28, 2015 at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery, 2800 Hancock Drive.

Billy's Eulogy:

Billy Garcia was a good soul and it is difficult to put into words how much his family is going to miss him.

Billy was born to Guillermo and Tayde Garcia in Mexico City. He had two sisters and two brothers, Marilu, Tayde, Paco and Carlos. As a young man Billy attended and excelled at a private Catholic school which prepared him for his studies at the University of Mexico City where he earned a Mechanical & Electrical Engineering degree.

Along with his interest in mechanics, from a young age Billy developed a strong passion for sport. While attending elementary school he joined the track team. By the age of 12 he was racing his own boat alongside his father who also raced water crafts. The entire family traveled to support Billy and his dad competing in boat races which were featured in various states throughout Mexico. While racing boats, Billy turned his focus to water skiing.

Located in the State of Morelos and about an hour and a half from Mexico City, Lake Tequesquitengo became the training ground for Billy and other world class skiers from as far away as Canada, Europe, Japan, and South America. After years of training and competing in water ski tournaments around the world, Billy had captured 14 Mexican National Water Ski Championships and had participated in 8 World Tournaments.

It was at a water ski tournament in Austin that Billy met the love of his life, Linda. Invited as the star skier to Austin by former American Water Ski Association President and Aqua Fest board member, Tom Perkins, Billy was pegged to start up ski shows at Fiesta Gardens. It was there that Billy and Linda spent the summer working together and that their love blossomed.

At the time of marriage, Billy was CEO of his dad's butane company which was one of the five largest in Mexico City. On an impulse, Billy's dad, who was semi-retired, purchased a hotel by their beloved Lake Tequesquitengo. It was during this time that Billy began designing and building professional water ski boats.

To fully dedicate his time to his passion of constructing the perfect water ski boat, Billy and Linda along with their children, Monica and Billy, moved to the lake. While there, Billy and Linda oversaw management responsibilities of the hotel. Being near the lake provided a fantastic life… full of sun and fun!

Due to a sudden accident in 1967, Billy's water skiing mentor and dear friend, Joe Cash died unexpectedly. As a tribute to Mr. Cash, Billy and his dad initiated a memorial international water ski competition at the lake. The entire Garcia family became involved. Skiers, judges, and boat drivers from around the world were invited and honored to attend. When possible, Ida Mae, Joe's wife, their children and some of Joe's siblings would attend. For 20 years it was known as one of the best ski tournaments around the world. The tournaments provided lots of fun, wonderful memories, fantastic skiing, and lifelong friendships.

In 1974, Rob Shirley, founder of Master Craft Professional Water Ski boats, received news that Billy had devised a few innovative engineering ideas and was producing a ski boat with exceptional performance. Rob travelled to Mexico to witness Billy laying fiberglass boats. A friendship ensued and Rob invited Billy and Linda to his production company in Tennessee and asked Billy to assist him in redesigning the bottom of Rob's boats. Billy and Linda loaded up their van with the kids and brought along a tricycle, a bicycle and a little red wagon propped on top and travelled to Maryville, Tennessee. The family enjoyed every minute of their stay while Billy worked with owner Rob and professional boat driver Jack Walker in designing and building a quality boat along with a motorcycle trailer and even a horse trailer.

Eventually the family returned to Mexico and settled in Cuernavaca, the state capital of Morelos in Mexico. Both children, Monica and Billy, attended school in the city while their father made the daily 20 minute commute to the hotel by the lake. Routinely on Tuesdays, Billy, Linda, the children and two Great Danes would venture off to enjoy a picnic day searching out one of the many fresh water springs on the outskirts of the city.

In 1980, Billy made the decision for the family to move to Austin. Upon arrival Billy began an import business consisting of hand crafted folk art created by Mexican artisans.

In 1982, Billy and Linda founded the restaurant, Pinch-A-Pollo, and they worked together side-by-side just as they did all those years at the hotel. After 13 years of wonderful food making, they decided to close the restaurant.

In 1995 Billy fought an extensive life threatening illness but with tenacity along with lots of family prayers, Billy's health successfully returned. Soon after he gained enough strength, Billy returned to work. This time he managed at one of Austin's most popular restaurants, Guero's. After a short stint at Guero's, Linda convinced her husband that he could partially retire while working as a cafeteria manager for the Austin public school system. While there, he kind heartedly impacted the lives of many of his fellow employees and enjoyed the daily attention of the school children who some would call him "Papa" or abuelo because they didn't have a grandfather. After several years of working for various school cafeterias, Billy finally decided to retire to get some rest and treat some recurring health issues.

On June 9, 2014, with substantial perseverance and a vigorous desire to enjoy a few more years of life, Billy bravely chose the opportunity to have a bilateral lung transplant. For a short period of time he had accomplished a full recovery, but unfortunately, it was the side effects from medications which caused complications in the end.

As a father, Billy was a teacher committed to passing on his knowledge of life values, mechanics, taste in music and lastly his love of water skiing and water sports. It was his passion about the water activities which had a profound influence on both of his children. Monica to this day loves spending time in the sun by a lake or beach and son Billy started and has successfully operated his own wakeboard school for over a dozen years. Also like his father, Billy has won many world competitions.

Billy's grandsons brought pure joy to his life. Each Wednesday and every other weekend, Linda and Billy had the opportunity to spend time with them. Billy made a big impression in their lives and his love for both Zane and Zach was immeasurable. He gifted each of them their own motor cross bike and enjoyed not only riding with them but instructing them on maintaining their bikes. He put a sticker on their bike that read, "Turn the gas on…dummy". Linda always said that Billy was happiest when he had motor oil on his hands and his nose stuck in an engine.

Billy's Catholic beliefs were a rock in his character that shined throughout his life. Along with his faith, he enjoyed reading and learning about history and often shared his knowledge. He also loved all types of music including rock, classical, and jazz and he enjoyed listening to artists like Rod Stewart, Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Sometimes when our nerves were frayed from being stuck in traffic he would turn the car radio dial over to a symphony hoping that it would calm our nerves. He always shot it straight, but in as gentle a way as HE could shoot it. He had a rather unique dry sense of humor which would always put people rolling on the ground with laughter. He was the best HE could be throughout his life.

In closing, Billy as a devoted son, a loving husband, beloved father and grandfather, a true friend, accomplished many wonderful things during his lifetime. His family will miss him every day.