Joseph Francis Garcia, III's Obituary
Joseph Francis Garcia, III, born December 2, 1941, died on Thursday, November 8, 2007.
Devoted companion of Leslie Ackel. Brother of Edith Constance Garcia Eason, Marie Amelie (Melie) Garcia Freret, Judge Peter John Garcia, Elizabeth Anne Garcia Smith, all of Covington, Michael Lancaster Garcia of San Francisco, CA, James Robert Garcia of Anchorage, AK, Yvonne Marie Garcia Crawford of League City, TX and Christian Paul Garcia of Greenville, NC. Son of the late Edith Lancaster and Joseph Francis Garcia, Jr.
Joe was born in New Orleans and graduated from Jesuit High School in 1959. He graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette with a degree in history and political science in 1964. He received his Navy commission as an ensign after graduation from the Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL. Joe was ordered to the West Coast and assigned to Amphibious Group Three where he served as the Group’s Communications Officer. He first served on board the USS Estes, an amphibious command flagship. He was on the admiral’s staff and was assigned duties as the crypto and top secret communications officer. Joe served his country in Vietnam aboard the USS El Dorado from 1967-1968 as a communications officer on the Admiral’s staff. In 1970, Joe left active duty and remained in the Reserves while he obtained his law degree at Loyola Law School. Throughout the 1970’s Joe practiced law in New Orleans and Covington. In 1971, Joe was sent to Washington DC where he was assigned to the staff of Admiral Stansfield Turner. In 1980, Joe re-entered active dury. He was assigned as commanding officer of a Radio Transmitting Facility Base for three years at Capas Tarlac, Phillippines. This was the location of the concentration camp that was the end of the Bataan Death March during World War II. In 1984, back in New Orleans, Joe was commissioned as a Commander, which was his rank upon retirement after 20 years of active and reserve duty.
Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral services on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 1:00 PM at E.J. Fielding Funeral Home Inc., 2260 W. 21st. Ave., Covington, LA 70433. Visitation on Tuesday from 10:00 AM until service time. Interment in St. Joseph Abbey Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the H.O.S.T.S reading program at Lyon Elementary School in Covington, LA or the American Cancer Society.
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