Albert Garcia

Funeral services for Albert Garcia, 84, rural St. James, MN will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017 at 10:30 am St. John’s Lutheran Church-South Branch, rural St. James, MN with Rev. Matthew Rusert officiating. Interment will be held at the church cemetery. Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2017 from 5-7:00 pm at Zaharia Family Funeral & Cremation Service of Truman and one hour before the services in the church. Albert is survived by his wife, Sarah. Further arrangements are pending with Zaharia Family Funeral & Cremation Service of Truman. Albert Peter Garcia was born on October 03, 1932, in West Tampa, Florida to Alberto and Eva (Alvarez) Garcia. He spent his formative years in Florida before moving to New York City where his mother ran a Spanish grocery store on the East Side of Manhattan. While living in New York, Albert was blessed with six sons. Albert served his country as a civilian test pilot for Curtis Wright during the Korean Conflict. He worked a diverse number of jobs in construction as a Master Plumber and DC 37 Union member, including being a plumbing foreman on the construction of the Perth Amboy fuel terminals. Albert was employed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) when he met his wife and later retired on disability. Albert was united in marriage to Sarah Gieseke in a civil ceremony in Pennsylvania on July 24, 1988, with a blessing following at St. John’s Lutheran of South Branch on Aug. 21. They made their home in Reeders, Pennsylvania, until moving to rural St. James in 1993 where they became members of St. John’s Lutheran Church. Al, as he liked to be called, loved spending time with his family, nieces and nephews, and extended family. He enjoyed boating all his life including salt water excursions out East and pleasure boating here in Minnesota. He enjoyed camping and exploring the state parks. Albert loved working outside, planting trees, doing home improvement projects, and helping others on projects. Al died peacefully at home with his wife at his side on Sunday morning, May 14. Albert is survived by Sarah, his wife of 29 years; sons Richard (Teri) Garcia of Tucson, Arizona; Ron Garcia, Aptos, CA and grandson Ron; Steve (Karin) Garcia, Massapequa Long Island, NY and granddaughter Brittany; Peter Garcia, Staten Island, NY and grandsons Lucas and Noah; Andrew (Loren) Garcia, Staten Island, NY; and Mark Garcia, Staten Island, NY. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Edna Fernand and brothers Eddie Garcia, Sergio Garcia, and Josey Garcia. Memorial contributions are preferred to the American Lung Association or to Lutheran Hour Ministries. www.zahariafamilyfuneral.com