Jesse Garcia
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
Jesse Garcia, aged 73, passed away surrounded by his family at home on June 21st due to acute myeloid leukemia.
He was born in Peru, Illinois in 1952 to Jesse and Maria Garcia (deceased). He enlisted in the Navy in 1972 and became a hospital corpsman and then a PT/OT Assistant, making the move from the Midwest to California. After leaving the Navy in 1978, he attended college where he recei
ved a degree in Physical Therapy and met his future wife, Nancy. After graduation, he joined the US Public Health Service in Nassau Bay, Texas before joining the Air Force where he served across postings in Louisiana, Wiesbaden (Germany) and Colorado where he earned a Masters Degree in Exercise Physiology. He retired from military service at Fairchild AFB in 1996. He then worked as a physical therapist in various clinics in the Spokane area specializing in aquatic therapy. He enjoyed helping people feel and perform better.
He enjoyed many hobbies including photography, fishing, cycling, drumming, A/V, and traveling with his family. Later in life, he loved to cook special meals for his family and friends including his legendary barbecue.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Nancy (Burkemper), sons Alexander (Ryan Kuczmarski) and Adam (Tomomi Matsushita) as well as his five sisters Anna Lehmann, Linda Studyvin, Angela Campbell, Gloria Therkildsen and Veronika Powers.
The family would like to thank Dr. Gourley, Deaconess Cancer Care staff North and South, the VA Home-based Primary Care team, Multicare Hospice and Caregiver Safion for their compassion and support.
A celebration of life will be held on July 5th from 3-6pm at Shawn O’Donnell’s in Spokane. Please RSVP to tinyurl.com/JesseCelebration. Military internment of ashes will be performed on July 6th at 11:15AM at the Washington State Veteran’s Cemetery in Medical Lake. Arrangements are through Pacific NW Cremation & Funeral. In lieu of flowers, any donation to the Blood Cancer Society is appreciated.
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