FAMILY FUN – Crystal Johns holds her son Zayne , 2, as she follows her son Ezekiel, 4, up an inflatable slide Saturday at Xoots Elementary School during the annual Spring Carnival. The event included games, prizes, cotton candy, and karaoke. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Rep. Rebecca Himschoot says in the discussion on educ [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Song, dance and a cast of school-aged actors will brin [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Don’t talk to people claiming to be from Medicare o [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS
Alaska Beacon
The Alaska House of Representatives voted Wednesday to allow comp [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dismissed an appeal filed by [ ... ]
Mr. Whitekeys
In Sitka to Tell
Gold Rush Tale
Sitka Historical Society and Museum will present ‘‘Th [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 17
At 9:08 a.m. a transformer was r [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The threat of major cutbacks to the subsistence socke [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With the first vote on the city budget for fiscal yea [ ... ]
By Sentinel Staff
In the final day of play in the recreational division City League volleyball [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Three amateur athletes from Sitka were among tens of [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
A proposal to require Alaska schools to keep opioid-overdose-r [ ... ]
By YERETH ROSEN
Alaska Beacon
Alaska’s Kobuk River, which flows out of the Brooks Range above [ ... ]
Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 16
At 8:07 a.m. a woman [ ... ]
Presentation On
Medicare, SS
SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium and Cynthia Gibson, CFP®, an [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Musicians from Sitka High and Mt. Edgecumbe High scho [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Whether you enjoy scaling mountains, walking in the p [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Sports Editor
Two-time Alpine Adventure Run winner Chris Brenk cont [ ... ]
By CLAIRE STREMPLE
Alaska Beacon
Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee expanded a [ ... ]
By JAMES BROOKS and
CLAIRE STREMPLE
The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development is [ ... ]
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
April 15
A protective order was issued at 1 [ ... ]
Chamber Speaker
Event Wednesday
The Chamber of Commerce speaker series will continue noon Wednesday at [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
From high costs and low availability to challenges sur [ ... ]
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A number of participants at Thursday’s community me [ ... ]
Daily Sitka Sentinel
Geraldine Alice (Antioquia) Garcia
A celebration of life for Geraldine Alice “Geri” (Antioquia) Garcia will be held 2-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Swan Lake Senior Center, hosted by Shee Atika and the Emblem Club.
Geri, 62, died Dec. 16, 2012, in New Bedford, Mass., following a courageous, three-year battle with cancer.
She was born in Juneau on April 3, 1950, the oldest daughter of Elizabeth (Antioquia) and Glenn Howard. She was Tei Kweidi, the Brown Bear clan and the Eagle tribe.
She grew up in Sitka, where she helped take care of younger siblings Glenn, Doris, Darryl, Cynthia and Judith. She also helped in caring for “Gram” Kitty Charlie, her great-great-grandmother, from whom she learned to speak Tlingit fairly well.
Geri held several jobs throughout her life, as an EMT, a caregiver and purchaser for an office company. She spent the majority of her life as a mother and homemaker.
She married Robert Thompson, and they moved to Ohio for Robert’s tour with the Coast Guard. Eventually they moved to Massachusetts, where Bob was from. Their children are Tracey, David and James.
After several years of marriage, the two divorced. Geri met and married Jose Garcia, and became stepmother to Jennifer.
Geri loved taking things apart to see how they worked, or fix them if necessary. She helped her Pop work on cars and boats. Building the Squirt, the last boat Pop built, became a family project.
Geri also enjoyed reading, and loved to dance; one of her dancing partners was Charlie Daniels. She was always learning new dance steps, and her favorite of late was the Electric Slide.
Geri came home to Sitka many summers, and along with visiting family, and friends from high school would volunteer in many ways, including at the Alaska Raptor Center and Emblem Club, as well as at the senior center, delivering meals to those at home.
Also during the visits, she and her nephew Brandon would hike up to the graves of great-great-grandparents Sitka and Kitty Charlie, and Grandma Anne Antioquia. She cleaned their graves and put down flowers.
Geri was very proud of her Tlingit heritage, and became a member of the Alaska Native Sisterhood. In her home in Massachusetts she created a Tlingit Wall, which had many pieces of Tlingit art, carvings and postcards.
She attended the Assembly of God Church while in Sitka.
She liked to travel, and she and Joe visited Joe’s family home in Portugal many times. She also traveled by train to Canada on a family trip to Whitehorse, and in 2008 she and Joe surprised her daughter and family in Hawaii for Tracey’s wedding to Paul.
Geri is survived by her parents, Elizabeth and Glenn Howard of Sitka; and children Tracey Ray and husband Paul of Nebraska, David Thompson and wife Tammy of Kansas, James Thompson of New Bedford and Jennifer Madeira and her husband Paul of New Bedford.
Her siblings, all of Sitka, are Glenn Howard (Joni), Darryl Howard (Stacy), Cynthia Bass (Mark) and Judith Kell (Tony). One sister, Doris Anselm, preceded her in death.
She also is survived by six grandchildren, Justin, Samantha, Cody, Nathan, Aisyn and Brendan; one great-grandchild, Kora; nine nieces and nephews; four grandnieces and grandnephews; 12 maternal aunts and uncles; and five paternal aunts and uncles.
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
Photo caption: Sen. Lisa Murkowski talks with students in Karoline Bekeris’ fourth-grade class Thursday at the Westmark Shee Atika. From left are Murkowski, Kelsey Boussom, Laura Quinn and Memito Diaz.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
A medley of songs from “Jesus Christ Superstar” will highlight the morning worship service on Palm Sunday at the United Methodist Church. Musicians will be Paige Garwood and Karl Hartman on guitars; Dan Goodness on organ; and Gayle Erickson on drums.