Guadalupe Garcia

Guadalupe Garcia of Los Fresnos, Texas passed away on the morning of July 21, 2020.  He was born in San Benito, Texas on April 1, 1931 and recently celebrated his 89th birthday this past spring.

Lupe, as he was commonly known, graduated from Los Fresnos High School in 1949. He had a great passion for sports as he was involved in several of his high school’s athletic teams.

 In between balancing academics and athletics, he spent his free time working on his family’s farm. Following his high school graduation, Lupe attended Texas A&I University to study accounting. During college, he served as pitcher for his university’s intramural undefeated softball team. Lupe was well known for his impressive abilities to mentally calculate advanced mathematical equations within just a few, short seconds. He was a brilliant man who was devoted to his studies.

Shortly thereafter he met the love of his life in1950, Emilia Burrnias at a local dance in Los Fresnos, Texas. The couple enjoyed attending dances like these within the valley region, especially at El Mesquiton in Olmito, Texas.  Lupe was drafted  to the Army, Korean War, and was assigned to H & S Co. 245^th Tank Battalion. His duty was that of a tank gunner in an armored tank.  In addition, Lupe was placed in charge of the Post Exchange (PX)  due to his analytical skills.   He served a total of two years and eighteen days. Two years after he returned from the Army, Lupe and Emilia married on December 23, 1956. Last December they celebrated 63 wonderful years of marriage. The love they share for each other is incredibly strong and is truly everlasting, it is a love like no other.

Following his service in the war, Lupe continued his education by attending Pan American University and graduated in 1962 with a B.S. in Accounting, with Honors. While completing his education he helped raise his two daughters with Emilia. Following his graduation, Lupe began working as a CPA for an accounting firm before leaving to start his own firm , Garcia, Marren & Company in Brownsville Texas, which he operated for 20 years. He was devoted to his career and he was one of the most hard-working and intelligent individuals there ever was. In addition to managing his firm, he taught undergraduate accounting courses at Texas Southmost College.

Lupe loved to spend time with his family and friends. He enjoyed sharing stories from his past and being surrounded with his loved ones. He found great joy fishing on his boat in the bay and catching fish for Emilia to fry. He also continued to maintain his passion for sports, and one would often find Lupe watching his favorite teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and of course his beloved Los Fresnos Falcons.

Lupe will be remembered for his ability to serve as a strong role model to his family. He led by example with his gentle and compassionate nature as well as his never ending love for his family and friends. Lupe has one of the most kindhearted and hardworking personalities. Family members would agree that Lupe never appeared to be upset by anything. He was a selfless man who adored his family and would do anything to put a smile on their faces. He never failed to make his loved ones laugh with his quick wit and humor.

Lupe was preceded in death by both his parents Juan and Maria Garcia his siblings Trina G. Pena, Celso, Juan Jr., and Francisco (Paco).

Lupe is survived by his wife, their two daughters Anna Sylvia Burton (Glenn) from Dallas and Celina Iris Garza (John) from Austin,  four grandchildren, Jeremy Burton, Lauren Melton (Eddie), Emily Garza, Alex Garza, great grandson Giuliano; and his siblings Maria Helena Olvera (Nena), Natividad Garcia, and Jesus Garcia.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 1 PM at Sunset Memorial Funeral Home with the recitation of the Holy Rosary at 2:30 PM with burial to follow at 4 PM at Buena Vista Burial Park. Services are under the guidance of Sunset Memorial Funeral Home, Crematory & Flower Shop. 657 Springmart Blvd., Brownsville. (956) 350-8485

In lieu of flowers we have setup a tribute page on the alzheimer’s association website – https://act.alz.org/site/TR/Events/Tributes-AlzheimersChampions?pg=fund&fr_id=1060&pxfid=639448