Abel Adolfo Garcia
Abel Adolfo Garcia of Livermore, California, died Dec. 22 at his home. He was 76.
Garcia was born Feb. 3, 1941, in Benavides, Texas to Adolfo Garcia and Maria Aminta Yzaguirre. He graduated from Sundeen High School in 1959 and graduated third in his class from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1963 with a degree in naval science and engineering. On June 10, 1963, he married the former Ginette Ratté in Quebec City, Canada. After serving in the Navy as a lieutenant in various roles in the Pacific and Southeast Asia theaters, Garcia left the Navy and over the course of his career worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (both at the Nevada Test Site and at LLNL’s main campus in Livermore) as well as in private industry performing technical risk analysis across various industries. Garcia retired from LLNL in 2008.
Garcia was one of the world’s foremost mechanical puzzle collectors, amassing a large collection including artisan crafted puzzles of all types as well as an impressive library spanning 200 years of puzzle history and development. He also was intimately involved in the formation and expansion of the International Puzzle Party, an annual gathering of puzzle collectors and designers from around the world, now in its 38th year. His other interests included hiking throughout the Bay Area and extensive international travel. He also enjoyed reading and spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Garcia is survived by his two sons, Adrian Garcia and his wife, Elizabeth of Sugar Land, Texas, and Stefan Garcia and his wife, Angela of Lafayette, California; five grandchildren; his brother, Joel Page of Chevy Chase, Maryland; and several nieces and nephews.
To celebrate Garcia’s life, a memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m. at the Graham-Hitch Mortuary at 4167 First St. in Pleasanton. A reception will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to charity in memory of Garcia as the family will be providing flowers for the event. The family will match all donations up to $10,000. Donations may be sent to assist the needy in the Livermore area as follows (please mark your donation "in memory of Abel Garcia"): Tri-Valley Haven Pantry c/o johns [at] trivalleyhaven.org (Mr. John Stuefloten), 418 Junction Avenue Livermore, CA 94551, (925) 449-1664, Tax ID : 94-2462357.
Cards and well wishes for the family may be sent, via email, to: stefangarcia [at] gmail.com (stefangarcia[at]gmail[dot]com) and adriangarcia [at] gmail.com (adriangarcia[at]gmail[dot]com), or via U.S. mail to: Graham-Hitch Mortuary c/o Abel Garcia & Family, 4167 First Street Pleasanton, CA 94566, (925) 846-5624.
