2023-09-12 15:40:55
Hector Garcia
Héctor E. García (Islas), 79, died on August 29, 2023 at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. He died from a rapidly spreading form of brain cancer. Héctor was a contemporary iconic Latin leader.
Héctor was born on September 17, 1943 in Mexico City. His father was León García, a senator in national politics. His mother was Elena Islas Cataneo, of partly Italian descent. He was the only child of that marriage. He had a half-brother, César Zepeda. Some of his surviving relatives include his wife, Bryana García Olchefske, and Héctor’s son, David, with his wife Lolly; and his grandchildren Carter and Blaise.
Héctor’s education in public schools is a North American experience. His first eight years were in Mexico. He was then sent to Los Angeles. He then to Ottawa, Canada, back to Mexico City and finally returning to California and graduating there. His undergraduate college education was in Mexico. He majored in business administration. He graduated in 1967. He went to other universities not to obtain a certain degree, but to take courses that he felt he needed to learn a certain skill. Hector settled in the Twin Cities in 1973, making the state his final home.
Hector had a business background, but was never comfortable with for-profit corporate ideology. He was a natural defender of human and civil rights. He found more satisfaction in the nonprofit sector. In the late 1980s, Héctor founded his consulting company, Mex-US Global. He offered global companies ways to improve (free) trade between Mexico, the United States and Canada (North America). He never resigned from that position.
Hector held various positions and made key achievements as a community activist (human/civil rights). Some of them are: He wrote a book titled Clash or complement of cultures? Peace and productivity in the new global reality. (Another book was on the way.) He was an anti-systemic racism and always offered ways to eliminate it. He was president of the Minnesotans for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). He was editor of Color Magazine, a series of non-white articles. He was best known for his time as CEO of CLAC (Chicano Council on Latino Affairs), a state political unit now known as MCLA (Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs).
Hector enjoyed biking, hiking, and snowshoeing with his wife Bryana. He was a devout Christian who often quoted Colossians 3:12 “Put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. “
Memorial service will be held at First Evangelical Free Church in Maplewood, 2696 Hazelwood Street, 55109. Friday, October 20, 2023. 11:00 a.m.
As a memorial gift, donations are accepted to: Our Lady of Peace or any charity that supports women and children seeking asylum in the US, such as Casa Guadalupana, St Paul.
A special biography geared toward the Latino community will soon be written in Spanish for Latino media.
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