Obituary of Anna Mae Garcia

Lifelong Bay Area resident Anna Mae Garcia died on April 28 at El Camino Hospital. She was 88 years old. Born in Palo Alto on July 6, 1924 to John and Mary Ljubich, Anna Mae was a graduate of Mountain View High and attended San Jose State University. She is survived by her husband Lionel, son Wayne, daughter Jill, granddaughter Annie, and brother Ivan Lubich. Anna Mae grew up in Mountain View, at a time when the city had a mere 3000 residents. Her father John was born in the former Yugoslavia, and like many immigrants he worked the land, raising cherries and apricots, his own chickens, rabbits, and vegetables, and made a bit of wine and moonshine on the side. Anna Mae grew up among the orchards, was immersed in the area's strong Slavic community, and was a regular at the traditional Napredak picnic held every July in Santa Clara. In 1946 at age 22, Anna Mae met and fell in love with Lionel John Garcia. Fresh out of the Navy, Lionel, or "Johnny," as he briefly called himself, was as handsome as Anna Mae was beautiful. The young romantics eloped just three months after their first date. With the help of John and Mary Ljubich (the "j" was later dropped) they bought a modest home on California Street in Mountain View. Anna Mae always loved their first home, remembering it as "the cutest little house." They briefly owned a small neighborhood grocery store/gas station on the corner of California and Mariposa-which still operates today-while Lionel worked at his father John's business, Garcia Propane, and Anna Mae was bookkeeper. Being young, attractive, vivacious, and givers of great parties, they quickly gained many friends in the neighborhood. Their daughter Jill Anne was born December 8, 1951. Something of a ham as seen in family home movies, young Jill was always impeccably dressed by Anna Mae, who would polish her white shoes three times a day. Five years later, on September 5, Wayne Jon was born. Because both grandfathers were named John, Anna Mae, ever the rebel, insisted on dropping the "h" from the spelling. A few years later the family moved to a larger home on Villa Nueva Court, just off Grant Road. The Garcia clan established itself as part of the close-knit neighborhood, and Lionel and Anna Mae became well known for their get-togethers, including semi-wild New Year's Eve and Halloween parties. The Garcia and Lubich families spent many weekends and every holiday together, attended church services at Saint Simon's, and for many years vacationed every summer at a cabin in Lake Tahoe. Anna Mae was a great cook, and her dishes were a hit at every occasion. She passed her love of cooking to Wayne, and her tradition of reading in bed every night to Jill. When the kids grew up and left the family home, Anna Mae and Lionel retired early, and in 1978 moved to a mobile home park in Sunnyvale, where they once again became a hub of the community, participating in rousing card games and many communal gatherings. They also became a fixture in the "Vagamundos," a group of RV enthusiasts who loved to camp out together, traveling from Pismo Beach to Calgary in Canada, and Anna Mae recorded all the small details from each trip. For the next 30-plus years, Anna Mae gathered family and friends into their home to share meals, tell funny stories, and remember good times with old friends. Her faithful care of Lionel through "sickness and health," along with her remarkable ability to recall important family events and dates astonished everyone who knew her, earned her the nickname "Anna-mazing." She was the family memory-keeper, and she is loved and missed by all. Family and friends are invited to share memories at a service at Spangler Mortuary, located at 799 Castro Street Mountain View, on Monday, May 6 at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an organization of choice or to The Breast Cancer Fund, http://www.breastcancerfund.org/donate/honor-and-memorial-gifts/




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