GARCIA. _Elva Iris. With great sadness, we said goodbye to Elva Iris Garcia on Nov. 26, 2015 at the age of 91. Elva was born Iris Elva Lee in Hawthorn, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, on Feb. 24, 1924, to Harry and May Lee. She grew up with her sister Jean (Theisinger) and her brother Keith, both of whom still live in Australia. During World War II, she met and eventually married Felix Amparan Garcia. Elva and Felix were married for over fifty years, living in East Los Angeles, before his death in 1996. Elva worked as a yard aide at Eastman Avenue Elementary School in East Los Angeles through the 1970's and 80's. For decades, Elva was an expert seamstress. Wedding dresses, nun's habits and annual Christmas pajamas for her children and grandchildren were among her work. Elva's children include: Kay (Gonzales), Gwen (Raya), Patricia (Varesio), Jeff, Judith (Trujillo) and Keith. Her in-laws include Jerry Gonzales, Bob Varesio, Kathy Garcia and Ernie Trujillo. Elva was blessed with 15 grandchildren (Pam, Leslie, Alec, Heather, Carrie, Miguel, Amanda, Emily, Clare, Lucy, Jason, Nathan, Apryl, Lee and Ky), 11 great-grandchildren (Sam, Rutger, Rex, Rachel, Elias, Oscar, Iris, Joaquin, Vincent, Yuma and Coraline), and 6 grandchildren who came into the family circle (Miguel Perez, Brian Sturdevant, Michael Pardon, Josh Amberg, Hector Enriquez, and Michelle Trujillo). Elva had many, many relatives in Australia including sister-in-law Margaret Lee, as well as Denis and Sue Holland. It was Elva's wish to be cremated. In her memory, donations can be made to the Salvation Army in Australia.
