Obituary of Col. Mary I. Garza

Mary Inez Garza passed away peacefully at a local care center on Sunday, March 11, 2018.Mary was born on July 2, 1932 in San Antonio to Frank G. Garza and Lydia Diaz Garza. From an early age Mary always was a very likeable and humble spirit. She often said, “I came from a very loving family and have rich memories of my childhood”.Mary graduated from Parkland Hospital School of Nursing in Dallas. Her first nursing job was with the Coal Miners Hospital in Harland, KY. While working three jobs, Mary earned a B.S.N. from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. In 1964 Mary joined the Air Force Reserve assigned to Kelly AFB in San Antonio as a flight nurse. She entered active duty in 1966. She served for two years during the Vietnam War traveling throughout the South Pacific to Travis AFB. Mary later completed an M.S.N. at Boston University and worked in diverse nursing areas until her retirement from the U.S.A.F. in 1986.Mary most enjoyed movies and mysteries, reading, visiting with many friends and her beloved cats. She had a special devotion to many Catholic religious communities especially in the last 20 years and received deep satisfaction helping the sisters with their need. She gave generously to The Sisters of Divine Savior (Milwaukee, WI), Sisters of St. Benedict (Ferdinand, IN) and The Sisters of Providence (St. Mary of the Woods, IN). In turn, the wonderful sisters prayed for Mary devoutly through her hospitalizations, procedures and multiple disease flare-ups. Mary spoke with many sisters via phone and several of the sisters and representatives came to Fort Worth in recent years. They loved to lunch at Bella’s in Westcliff. A recent coment from the heart, “ I just Love those little Sisters, they are all so good to me and us”.Mary was preceded in death by her four year old brother, Frank Garza. Jr. and is survived by her caregiver and longtime friend, Elisabeth “Beth” Origer, loving cousins and families in San Antonio, and special caring friends and neighbors.