Raymond John Garcia, 98 of Tampa, FL passed away peacefully at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, FL on September 17th, 2021. He was born on July 25, 1923, in San Francisco, California to Mr. and Mrs. Romeo M. Garcia. In 1943, Ray received his A.A. degree in Modern Language at SFJC. He continued his language studies at UCA (Japanese), AAF Tech in NY (cryptography, encoding/decoding, other) and Army Specialized training in Denver, CO (Bulgarian). Over the years he also studied computer languages. He then served as a Cryptologist in both the Army, Honorably Discharged 1946 with an Army Victory Metal and the Airforce, Sergeant to Airman 1st Class, Honorably Discharged 1953 with an Occupation Metal (Germany). Ray’s fluency in 14 languages served our country in WWII and the Korean war. He received a letter from The White House extending “a heartfelt thanks from a grateful Nation” signed by President Harry Truman. In 1971 he married Wilma Painter, of Boulder, CO later divorced. Ray worked for the Federal Government Office of Inspector General Audit Agency 1947-1980 in Washington D.C. He met Mildred R. Loubert in 1988 at a National Ethical Society meeting and they were together for 33 years. They traveled worldwide and were “snowbirds” between Bethesda, MD and Tampa, FL until her passing in 2014. During that time, Ray was a long-standing Adjudicator of plays throughout the Washington Metro area and a member of The British Players. He loved reading, the theater, fine arts, music, dancing, travel, history, and science. After Mildred passed, he moved to University Village in Tampa, FL where he met Anne Laffan of Albany, New York. They have enjoyed many activities, cruises, friends, and family for the last 5 years.
Ray had 3 siblings that predeceased him, David E. Garcia, Romeo M. Garcia Jr., and Georgia Garcia Bagnod all of San Francisco, CA. He is survived by his stepchildren, Cathy and Roger Lipton of Germantown, MD, Dianne Trickett (deceased) of Fitchburg, MA, Byron Loubert and Linda Berliner of Bethany Beach, DE/Bethesda, MD, Cherie A. Loubert of Gulfport, FL, his step-grandchildren; Brett and Tijen Loubert of Redondo Beach, CA, Michael and Megan Loubert of Fallbrook, CA, Diana Shane (deceased) of North Beach, MD, Blake Lipton of Bangor, ME, Eli Trickett of Winchendon, MA, Sherry Berliner of Germantown, MD and Marissa Berliner of Floyd, VA, 11 great-grandchildren, other extended family in CA and many dear friends. Memorial contributions may be made to Wounded Warrior Project. Ceremonial arrangements will be communicated once determined.
