May 17, 2023 849 PM
Carmel L. Garcia, age 78 from Marathon, Texas, passed away at home in Edmond, Oklahoma, on April 15, 2023. Her cause of death was a long battle with rheumatoid arthritis. Carmel was the last surviving child of Tiburcio Oliveres Garcia and Merced Silvas Garcia. She was the maternal granddaughter of Leondro and Maria DeAnda Silvas, and the paternal granddaughter of Jesus and Mariana Oliveres Garcia of Castolon and La Coyota located in what is now Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Carmel was a deaf/mute, and due to the lack of resources in her hometown, she attended school for a short time but was eventually not allowed to continue. Nevertheless, she was very intelligent and taught herself to communicate with those around her, and learned to sign her name. She also recognized names and maintained her own phone book to reach out to relatives. She enjoyed making salsa on the molcajete and making homemade tortillas for her friends.
Carmel was predeceased by her parents, Tiburcio and Merced Garcia; her sisters, Elvira G Ramos and Esperanza (Quati) Garcia; brothers, Roberto (Quate), Ysidro, Agustin, Jose Guadalupe and Ezequiel Garcia; her cousin Cornelio S. Ramirez, who she considered as her brother; and her nephew Samuel Garcia Ramos.
Left to cherish her memories are her caregivers, Elva Ramos Diaz (niece), and Elva’s husband and son, Robert and Bobby Diaz; nephew and wife, Samuel and Stephanie Diaz of Phoenix, Arizona; sister-in-law, Salome, Refugia and Lorina Garcia; nephews Ezequiel, Michael, Eddie, Jose, Hector, Ysidro Jr., and Ricardo Garcia; nieces Viola Muniz, Valerie, Janie, and Rachel Garcia; her cousins, Susie Thompson, Sonia and Maria Aguirre, and Jose Silvas Chavarria; her best friend, Consuelo Estrada; last but not least, Steven and Selena Ramos, whom she considered her own children.
Her caregivers would like to acknowledge and thank her private CNAs: Cheri Kriesel and Alicia Swanegan, along with Mercy Home Health, and Mercy Hospice nurses and CNAs.
Honorary Pallbearers: Robert, Bobby, and Samuel Diaz. Morgan Hatton, Jose S. Chavarria.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Marathon Latin Cemetery, P O Box 278, Marathon, TX 79842.
Services were held Saturday, April 29, 2023, beginning at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edmond, Oklahoma.
