Maggie Garza

When Maggie Garza walked into the room, those in her company felt energy and enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of how Maggie was able to impact those around her. Maggie was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Maggie wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Maggie was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

The daughter of Fernando and Renata Salamanca, Maggie was raised in Santa Clarita, CA. Always at the ready with a good joke, she grew up to be quite a humorous person. She was raised with three siblings. She had two older brothers, Jose and Pedro, and one younger sister, Eliana. Maggie was very accepting and supportive of her family. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Maggie was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. This trait served Maggie well in her adult life for she would be raising a large family of her own later down the road.

As a young girl, Maggie was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Maggie was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She had a warm, maternal energy, and those around her always felt accepted and welcome. In her spare time, she loved sewing and making things with her hands. She would often work with clay to make small trinkets and dishes, or make jewelry for her little sister Eliana. Maggie had the ability to find amusement with almost any creative activity.

Maggie graduated from Santa Clarita High School in 1956. She was a good student, and generally did well in her courses. She learned best from observation and hands-on activities. For Maggie, school often became more about her social life rather than an academic one. She pursued many different clubs and extracurricular activities to mingle with many different groups of people. Maggie never had a clique, as she was friends with everyone. Classmates considered Maggie a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything.

After high school, Maggie married her high school sweetheart, Hank Garza. They had their wedding in a little white chapel outside of Santa Clarita. Many of their friends and family attended, as they were honored to share their special day with those they loved most.

Not long after their wedding, Maggie became pregnant with their first child, Diego. Motherhood came natural to Maggie, and she and Hank were filled with joy and excitement to continue growing their family. She was blessed with nine children in total! Four sons: Diego, Miguel, Antonio, and Manuel; and five daughters: Camila, Rosana, Sofia, Valentina, and Carmen. For Maggie, parenting was an enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, to family dinners and holiday gatherings gave Maggie the most fulfillment in life. Her skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Maggie was what those would call a supermom.

Maggie loved to stay busy, and worked a few small part-time jobs over the years to occupy her while the kids were in daycare. But after kid number 3, she and Hank decided it was best for her to become a full time stay-at-home mother, and it was the most fulfilling role of all.

Now being at home full time, Maggie was able to not only raise her children but dive back into her own hobbies and interests and share them with her children. She would sew many of the kids’ clothing, and started being more inventive in the kitchen. She would always involve the kids, using everything as a teaching opportunity. Her children always enjoyed being involved in helping, and she instilled in them great values of kindness and generosity. For Christmas one year, Maggie’s oldest daughter, Camila, gave her a lovely handcrafted porcelain doll with an intricate dress and hairstyle. From then on out, Maggie began collecting other dolls to, one day, pass down to her own daughters and granddaughters.

Once her children were grown, Maggie still desired to be actively involved in her community. She continued to participate in fundraisers for school events, as well as devoted more time to her faith. She started singing in her church’s choir and formed a monthly brunch and book club with some of her closest friends there. The women would eventually plan many vacations together whenever they could. Maggie’s favorite of the destinations was a Mediterranean cruise, in which they were able to visit many southern European countries including Malta, Italy, and Greece. It also became a tradition for the family to rent a large cabin at Lake Tahoe at least twice a year for holiday gatherings - once in the summer for vacation and cookouts, and once in late fall for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

As an empty nester, Maggie decided to adopt some furry friends to keep her company. She was a lover of animals, but always felt a special connection to cats. She rescued two kittens from a shelter and gave them a new loving home. Their names were Bonita and Chili, and since she actively chose to not spoil her children, she decided it was okay to spoil the cats – they even got their own fancy dinners prepared specially by Maggie.

After the passing of her husband Hank in 2016, Maggie knew it was time to downsize and luckily was able to move in to a small guesthouse situated on the same lot where her daughter Sofia and family lived. Sofia’s husband owned a vineyard in Napa Valley, and Maggie was able to spend her last years of life enjoying the countryside and spending as much quality time as she could with Sofia’s children. Her other nine children and grandchildren would come to visit her often, and Maggie felt so blessed to be able to stay connected with her family even though they were all grown and living their own lives.

Maggie Garza passed away on August 4, 2021. She is survived by her nine children, 24 grandchildren, and siblings Jose and Eliana.

There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Maggie. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. It seemed as if many others looked to Maggie Garza for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Maggie was always more than willing to share life’s experiences with her loved ones.