Gloria O. Garcia

Gloria Ortiz Garcia, a mother and former high school cheerleader whose smile and optimism endured during her battle with Alzheimer’s disease, died September 24, 2013 at her son’s home in Dallas. She was 75.

Mrs. Garcia was born July 14, 1938, in San Antonio. She was the fifth eldest daughter of Arnulfo R. and Luisa G. Ortiz Sr., who had 10 other children. The family was poor but rich with love.As a young girl, Mrs. Garcia picked cotton with her family at Chapman Ranch, a bustling farm community near Corpus Christi. The work was harsh during Texas’ sweltering summers.

“It was hard work, I didn’t like it,” Mrs. Garcia often told family members. “It was hot and my fingers would get bloody from picking cotton from the prickly bolls. But it made me strong. It made me want more out of life. I didn’t want to pick cotton. I wanted a better life.”

Mrs. Garcia was 12 when her mother died in 1951. The family struggled to get by, but the older girls united to run the household and raise their younger siblings while Mr. Ortiz worked. Although Mrs. Garcia spent several weeks each semester working on farms, she was an honors student and cheerleader at Sidney Lanier High School in San Antonio. She graduated in 1955.

She married her high school sweetheart Edward B. Garcia in 1958. She worked as a secretary while her husband was in the military. When they returned to San Antonio, Mrs. Garcia began her government service at Kelly Air Force Base. The couple worked civilian clerical jobs at Randolph Air Force Base, beginning in the late 1960s.

The couple had two children: Their daughter Laura Lynn was born in 1963 and son Eric Edward arrived in 1967. The couple raised their children in Live Oak, a San Antonio suburb, before moving to Tampa, Fla., and Louisville, Ky. The family relocated to Dallas in 1980.

Mrs. Garcia, a lifelong government employee, retired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1983 and then worked as a development office secretary at Southern Methodist University. She retired from SMU in 1995.

After her husband’s death in 1996, she moved to San Antonio to help babysit her daughter’s four children. She was an active senior who loved dancing, traveling, walking at malls and spending time with family. She was a member of the Lanier High alumni group, the Fabulous Fifties. She took trips with family to Hawaii, California, Arkansas, Nevada and Florida. Yearly trips to South Texas always included a visit to Chapman Ranch.

Mrs. Garcia was diagnosed with dementia in 2010 and battled Alzheimer’s disease for the past two years. Her journey was chronicled online by her son, the caregiver.

“I love you more, more, more,” she would frequently tell loved ones. “I’ll always love you.”

She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward B. Garcia, sister Aurora Gonzalez and parents, Arnulfo & Luisa Ortiz Sr.

Survivors include her daughter Laura Garcia Vasquez and husband Guillermo Vasquez, both of San Antonio; son Eric Edward Garcia and partner Robert Andrew Bowling, both of Dallas; four grandchildren, Valerie Lauren Vasquez, Joshua Guillermo Vasquez, Vanessa Lynn Vasquez and Jacob Gabriel Vasquez, all of San Antonio; Sisters Marie Scott of Florida, Genny Garcia, Connie Rosel, Minnie Garcia, Alice Martinez; Brothers Arnulfo Ortiz, Juan Ortiz, Daniel Ortiz and David Ortiz all of San Antonio.

Visitation was from 2 to 9 p.m. Monday, September 30, 2013 at Sparkman Funeral Home, 1029 S. Greenville Ave. in Richardson. A rosary was recited at 7 p.m. .Mass was celebrated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, October 1, 2013 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 6306 Kenwood Ave, in Dallas. Burial followed at Hillcrest Memorial Park.