Saturday, January 25, 2025
Fernando Garcia,
Father to many, Grandfather to a few, Great Grandfather to a few more. He was known by his kids mostly as “Papito” and by his relatives and closest friends as “El Negro”. He was born on June 10, 1932 (according to his birth certificate 4/9/32, don’t know why), to peasant parents in the small town of Jamao in the province of Salcedo in the Dominican Republic. As a young boy, he worked the land and harvested the crops along with his brothers and sisters. However, his big dream was to attend school in search for a better life. He often told stories about all the obstacles, sacrifices and many kilometers he had to walk bare footed just to go to school. He was the first of the family to go beyond a high school education. He enrolled in college several times but his time in school was always cut short due to his financial needs and family responsibilities. Although he did not go far in college, he was well read and very knowledgeable about politics and world affairs. His professional career started as a postal worker, through hard work and perseverance, he moved through the ranks and became the head of personnel for the post office in the Dominican Republic. He ended up staying there for over 20 years. He later became a control tower technician at Las Americas International Airport (SDQ) and stayed at that position until he retired. After retirement, his time was spent traveling between Santo Domingo and New York. During the late 90’s he moved permanently to New York but continued to travel to D.R. frequently. Papito lived a healthy life for the most part but as he approached his 80’s his health started to deteriorate. The last 3 years were difficult. He spent most of the time confined to a bed until he passed away on January 18th, 2025. Papito’s had a long life expanding 9 decades. He’s leaving behind approximately 60 (kids, grandkids and great grandkids); his legacy will continue for many years to come. RIP.
