Jimmy
Joe
"J.J."
Garcia
Jimmy Joe "JJ" Garcia, 80, of Austin Texas, passed away peacefully on November 14, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. Jimmy was born on December 17, 1941, to Elizabeth Garcia and Joe Cruz. A native Austinite, he grew up in East Austin on Holly Street where he was raised by his grandmother Soledad Cruz along with help from his aunts Vera, Mary, Della Cruz, and uncles Jessie and Frank Cruz.
Jimmy graduated from Austin High School and attended St. Edwards University. He enlisted in the US Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan; Denver, Colorado; Florida and Big Spring, Texas where he served as a guidance missile technician.
Following his tour of duty in the Air Force, Jimmy returned to Austin to work for the U.S. Postal Service. He worked for the Postal Service for 35 years; retiring as the Station Manager of Oak Hill Station Post Office in 1999. Upon retirement from the U.S. Postal Service, he worked for the City of Austin/Child Safety Program as a Crossing Guard at Kiker Elementary from 2001-2016. There, he was known to all as "Mr. Jim" and was very well-loved by the Kiker community and surrounding families.
Jimmy had a passion for traveling with his wife and family; spending time outdoors and camping. He was always ready for a road trip. Upon retirement from the USPS, he took over the chef duties in the kitchen from his wife Mary. He would impress the family with elaborate meals on holidays and special occasions. Taking cooking classes, he fine-tuned his culinary skills. He maintained a vast collection of cookbooks which speaks volumes of his love of cooking. He showed his love of family and others through food.
He was a man of God. He knew Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior at an early age and through his beliefs in his Catholic faith maintained and shared that faith and love of the Lord with others. He was part of the Just Faith community at St. Catherine of Sienna church. One of the community outreach programs being, monthly providing and sharing meals with Casa Marianella and Garden Ridge/Community Foundation.
He was known as "Heepaw" to his grandchildren, and always made them the center of his world. His family will always remember how special he was and how much they meant to him.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents Francisco and Soledad Cruz; his parents, Elizabeth Garcia Castillo, and Joe Cruz; along with numerous aunts, uncles, siblings, and cousins.
Jimmy Joe Garcia is survived by his wife of 43 years, Mary Ruth Garcia; his son Nathan James (Garcia) VandenAvond and spouse Benny of Austin, Texas; daughters, Monica Wikert of Austin, Texas; Amy Aunspaugh and husband DeWayne of Austin, Texas; his grandchildren; Andrew "Drew" Wikert and Renae Farr of Austin, Texas; Tyler Debish and fiancé Kim Ross Baethge of Stonewall, Texas; Sierra Debish and, Sophia Torres of Austin, Texas, and great-grandson, Weslynn Daniel Wikert of Austin, Texas.
The family would like to thank all the staff at Texas Oncology Midtown for the exceptional care. Special thanks are also extended to the amazing nurses and staff at St. David's Medical Center who provided exemplary care for Jimmy.
Visitation and recitation of the Holy Rosary will be held on Sunday, December 4th, 2022 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm at Harrell Funeral Home, 4435 Frontier Trail Austin, Texas 78745. A Catholic Funeral Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Monday, December 5th, 2022 at 10:00 am at St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church, 126 W Oltorf St, Austin, Texas 78704.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the following: The Michael J Fox Foundation, https://give.michaeljfox.org/give or to the American Cancer Society, https://donate3.cancer.org