For the last week of Rafael Garcia’s life as he battled a brain tumor, friends and fellow firefighters shared precious stories with his family. They talked about the popular Miami firefighter and paramedic’s courage and character, his sense of humor, his dedication to being a good son, husband and father-to-be, reports The Miami Herald.
Those are the moments, though shared in sorrow, that his parents, wife and family hang on to now, the memories they will eventually share with Garcia’s son, due in May.
“We cannot begin to imagine what you are going through,” said Rev. Robert Vallee, who married Rafael and Maeghan in 2011 and led Thursday’s funeral service for Garcia. “All we can do is cry with you, pray for you and thank you for the amazing gift of your son who you loved and raised so well.”
Garcia, 28, who died of a brain tumor diagnosed just days ago, was memorialized in verse and hymn and recollections at a Mass Thursday at St. Kevin Roman Catholic Church, drawing hundreds of friends and an endless stream of uniformed officers — his professional family — from across Florida, even canines from search-and-rescue units.
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