LINDA S. GARCIA
January 7, 1950 – April 27, 2018

Wife of old Kama’aina business owner Clifford J. Garcia of Tropical Lamp & Shade Co. “The love of my life, soulmate, mother of my two girls, and grandmother of our first granddaughter. We were together for 46 years and on April 24th, the worst day of my life, my wife came to our bedroom and said to me ‘Cliff, I can’t breathe.’ Her tongue started to swell, blocking her airway. My daughters and my son-in-law, who is a doctor, helped her while the paramedics were en route. She had an allergic reaction to something unknown that the doctors were unable to identify. We’ll never have the answers we so desperately need. This is the hardest and saddest thing that could have happened.
Tropical Lamp & Shade Co. was started by my dad in 1943. We have been in Kaka’ako since 1950. I have continued to run this business since my dad’s passing in 1996. Linda helped me in my life for 46 years, and she has left us way too soon. She was a wonderful mother to our two daughters, whom we enjoyed caring for very much. She loved collecting antiques and collectables. In our free time together, we enjoyed watching American Pickers, Pawn Stars, and old westerns. She is missed dearly and was the sweetest woman you could have ever met.
Linda was born in Crookston, MN and came to Hawaii in 1972 to visit her brother out of Vietnam. We met through her brother, and she never left. We married in 1975, and we lived happily ever after in Kailua until this nightmare happened. She was a strong believer in God, and God has taken her from me way too soon.”

"Love your mother, wife, grandmother every day, say "I love you", the unexpected could happen at any time as it happened to me. Until we meet again, I love you Linda with all my heart and soul. Cliff ~ "

Linda worked as a waitress at the Chart House restaurant and Matteo’s Italian restaurant downtown. She also worked in sales at Bevway Corp. and Tropical Lamp & Shade Co. with her husband Cliff, helping him out in the family business.
Linda is survived by husband Cliff, daughters Kellie DeFriece and Gabrielle Garcia, granddaughter Dylan DeFriece, son-in-law Josh DeFriece, mother Genevieve Bruley of Crookston MN, brothers Bill and Gary Bruley of MN, aunties, uncles, cousins, and friends. She was preceded in death by her father, Clarence “Classy” Bruley.

Services will be held on May 26th at 10:00am
at St. Patrick’s Church where she and Cliff were married.