Hwa Ja Garcia

We are sad to announce the passing of Hwa Ja Garcia, 81, of Killeen, Texas. She passed away in her home on August 19, 2023, after a battle with illness. Her loved ones were by her bedside as she started her journey to heaven. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, August 29 at Harper-Talasek Funeral Home in Killeen, beginning at 11 am. Committal will follow at Central Texas State Veteran’s Cemetery at 1 pm.

Yi Hwa Ja was born in the city of Taegu in South Korea and was only eight when the Korean War broke out. Her family, like many others caught up in a war; struggled to survive. Before Hwa Ja had reached her teenage years, she had lost her father and two brothers, and the only people left in her life were her mother and sister.

Hwa Ja met her future husband in 1970 in Inchon, Korea and were later married on August 24, 1971. The military reassigned her husband to Cannon AFB near Clovis, New Mexico. While stationed there, Hwa Ja gave birth to their first son, Alexander; and 13 months later, their second son, Christopher, became the newest member of the family. She proudly supported her husband throughout his twenty-year career in the military. Hwa Ja was a devoted mother, wife, and grandmother throughout her life. Hwa Ja was a member of the Korean Full Gospel Church in Killeen, where she was baptized.

She is predeceased by her father, Yi Su Kwan; mother, Yi Tae Suk.

She is survived by her husband, Jesus; her sons, Alexander, and Christopher; grandson, Tyler Wilson-Garcia; and granddaughter, Ashley Grzonka.

Hwa Ja will be missed dearly by her family and friends. Visitation will be held Monday, August 28 from 6-8 pm at the funeral home.