Victor Ricardo Garcia

Death crept quietly into our lives while we were sleeping and stole a huge piece of our heart. It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Victor Ricardo Garcia.

A longtime resident of Sonoma, Victor died Jan. 13, 2014, from diabetes complications. Victor was born in Guatemala, Central America, and moved to the United States in 1973, where he came to enjoy and live the “American Dream.” He worked at Napa State Hospital as a mechanical engineer, and with hard work and dedication, his last position was that of chief engineer and the maintenance department supervisor.

He is survived by his 102-year-old father, Agustin; his two loving daughters, Janeth and Valentina Garcia; his grandson, Jai, to be born in February; his step-children, Jennifer Villasenor, Helen McCune and Micheal Hall; five grandchildren, many nephews and nieces, four brothers and two sisters. Victor was a wonderful father, uncle, brother and friend.

He will be remembered for his deep love for his family, his amazing generosity and kind spirit, his knowledge of sports and his sense of community. Victor played soccer for many years, then was an active “soccer dad” during his daughter, Valentina’s soccer years.

During his few years of retirement, Victor was involved in volunteer work: he was a driver for Meals on Wheels, and loved his “work-days” at Sugar Loaf Park and Jack London State Historic Park. He loved nature, gardening and traveling. He was always delighted to spend time in nature with his loyal companion, his dog, Cubana.

Dearest Father: You gave us unconditional love, wisdom and help. We will miss you so very much, but your legacy lives on within all of us through wonderful memories shared of you.

Friends and family are invited to a memorial service at St. Leo’s Catholic Church, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2014 at 11 a.m.