Christopher (Chris) Richard Garcia, age 47 peacefully transitioned home to be with the Lord, while surrounded by family on Saturday, May 6, 2023. Chris was born on November 9, 1975, in his hometown of Ventura, California.
Chris was known for his gentle, loving demeanor and a smile that could light up a room. It was no secret that Chris was passionate, ambitious, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a natural artist, a huge history buff, animal lover, loved dialogue and a bigtime “foodie.” Chris held such good Christian values of unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness of others. One of his favorite scriptures from the Bible was found in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” Chris had attended Blanche Reynolds Elementary, Anacapa Middle School, De Anza Middle School, Ventura High School and graduated from Gateway Community School.
He is preceded in death by grandparents Refugio (Ray) Garcia Jr. and Georgia Garcia, John Custodio Sr. and Mary Rose Custodio, father Richard J. Garcia, aunts Teresa Duran and Adeline Garcia. He is survived by wife Valerie, children Christina Garcia, Chris Garcia Jr., Cheyenne Garcia, Carina Alannah Garcia, Calais Ray Garcia, Jada Polanco and Damien Polanco, granddaughter Lilly Angelle Garrett, mother Mary Garcia, sister Christina Haywood, brother-in-law Don Haywood, nephews Darren, Daniel and Dustin Haywood, uncles Robert Garcia, Ernest Garcia, John Custodio Jr., aunts Cynthia Garcia-Doane, Monica Garcia, Maria Garcia-Deer, Clarissa Sanchez, Diana Garcia Palomares, Jenny Ortiz, Priscilla Custodio and Sandy De La O as well as numerous cousins.
Upon completion of High School, Chris immediately found work at Office Depot. It was throughout the many years working at O.D. that Chris started a very close bond of brotherhood with fellow employees Augie Maciel, Rudy Soto, Andres Perez and cousin Anthony Garcia. Together, the guys would accomplish many achievements for the company. They helped create a culture of outstanding work ethic and treated everyone employed as family. The belief was that no one wants to see family fail, so the opposite of failure was to succeed. That is exactly what they did, many of the guys moved on to manage other companies. In 2006, Chris had joined the management team for Longs Drugs, and it was during that time he met his future wife Valerie Polanco. With the help of his creative outlet “MySpace” and a very intriguing poem, Chris was able to capture the attention of Valerie. Not long after, Chris decided to pursue his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and starting a family with Valerie in Central California. Together, having so much in common with music, they created Empowerment Records LLC. Chris and Valerie would become both artists and songwriters of their own music. Chris would begin writing and singing under the name “Crider.” Because of his passion to succeed, Chris used every opportunity to learn the ins and outs of every company having worked for, while building his dream. A few examples; when he was working for the wineries, he actually taught himself how to make wine, yes he made a whole wine contraption on his kitchen counter and tried making wine. When he worked at Kirk Kennedy (an art printing company). He was looking into buying an industrial printing machine because he loved it and thought he could make money from opening a business in his garage. His last job was at Krispy Crunchy where he ran the kitchen and when he learned how to make their fried chicken, he went home and practiced at home with their recipe and techniques and was so proud of himself. Chris truly invested his time into anything and everything that he loved, including his family and friends.
At home, Chris would enjoy gardening, having family movie nights at home or at the drive-in, hosting BBQ’s, making late night Sonic runs and frequently vacationed to places like Six Flags Great America, Monterey Aquarium, Dennis the Menace Playground and also his hometown of Ventura.
Chris was an amazing son, brother, brother-in-law, husband, father, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. He will be dearly missed by all who loved him.
A celebration of Chris’s life will be held on Thursday, June 22, 2023, 12:30pm at The Miracle Center of Ventura 38 Teloma Drive, Ventura, Ca. 93003.
Arrangements are under the direction of JOSEPH P. REARDON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE. Ventura.