Aurita Costa Garcia

Our beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother Aurita Garcia, passed away in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 18, 2025. Just three months shy of her 99th birthday, Aurita lived a long and purposeful life.

Aurita was born on November 16, 1926 in Moana de Pontevedra, in the region of Galicia in northwestern Spain. Aurita had two older brothers, Candido and Pepe, and a twin sister, Concha. Her childhood in Spain was marked by the violence and trauma of the Spanish Civil War. She endured a tumultuous childhood in those early years until they immigrated to the United States in 1941 when she was 14 years old. They settled in Brooklyn, New York where they were reunited with her father Jose who had come in the early 1920’s during the great migration of southern European workers to the United States. Aurita became an accomplished seamstress in Brooklyn, working from home with her mother Peregrina and her sister Concha.

Aurita married Joseph Garcia at the church of Saint Augustine in Brooklyn in 1950. She became a naturalized US citizen in 1952. Aurita and Joe raised three children: Joseph, Robert, and Marilyn. In 1958, the young family moved from Brooklyn, New York to Sacramento, California. Her husband Joe went to work as a machinist for the Aerojet General Company and Aurita worked raising her children and later as a civil servant for the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles until her retirement. She was predeceased by her husband Joe in 2001.

In 2010 Aurita sold the family home in Sacramento and moved to San Francisco where she lived with her daughter Marilyn and family for almost a decade. She was always busy helping the family, participating in classes at the local senior center, playing a mean game of Scrabble and sewing remarkable artisan dolls for so many friends and family. Throughout her life she remained a perfectionist in all she did.

At the beginning of Covid in March of 2020, Aurita moved from California to live in Ellicott City, Maryland with her son Robert and daughter-in-law Connie. For the last three years she lived at Morningside House in Ellicott City where she was blessed with a welcoming community and attentive care throughout her time as a resident.

Aurita is survived by her son Robert and daughter-in-law Connie, as well as her daughter Marilyn and son-in-law Felipe. Aurita’s 5 grandchildren include Rachel (and husband Coire), Robert (and wife Sarah), Joseph, Natalia, and Naomi (and husband Gerardo), as well as her 3 great-grandchildren Ciara, Colin and Nieves. Aurita was predeceased by her eldest son Joseph Christopher Garcia in 2023.

Aurita's favorite pastime was enjoying time with her family and friends. She and Joe loved to go camping throughout California and also liked to travel, often returning to see relatives in New York as well as in Spain. Aurita enjoyed going on ocean cruises from Alaska to the Panama Canal. She was a phenomenal cook. Her favorite specialties included making delicious Spanish paella, bacalao, caldo gallego, and empanada gallega. Aurita enjoyed get togethers with family, socializing with friends and engaging in board games like Scrabble and Dominoes; in her later years BINGO was her favorite.

Our family would like to thank the caring staff and friendly residents at Morningside House in Ellicott City, and in the final phase of her life, the attentive care from the nurses and doctors of AccentCare Hospice, who helped make her final days a gentle and compassionate experience.

We give thanks for Aurita’s remarkable life. As an immigrant to the United States of America, fleeing fascism in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the Statue of Liberty welcomed her with the promise of a better life. Through determination and hard work, she succeeded in living the American dream. She believed in the dignity of all immigrants. Like millions of immigrants before and after her, Aurita was an essential part of the fabric of our country. Her lessons and her love will continue to inspire us always.

“Cuanto amor nos dejas, y cuanto amor te llevas.”