UVALDE, Texas — Hundreds of mourners gathered Wednesday at a joint funeral for the hero teacher gunned down in last week’s mass school shooting and her grief-stricken husband who died of a heart attack days later.
The caskets carrying the bodies of Irma and Joe Garcia were adorned with matching white flowers for the private service at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Uvalde, Texas.
Teary mourners embraced each other outside the church and some sobbed throughout the service as Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller honored Irma for trying to protect her students.
“Because you were there with them … You did what you would have done with your own children. You took care of them until your last breath,” García-Siller said of the fourth-grade teacher.
The Archbishop listed the names of the 19 slain children repeatedly throughout his homily.
US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was among the mourners who packed into the church.
Irma and Joe Garcia were married 24 years and are survived by their four children. Twitter/@fuhknjoIrma, 48, was one of two teachers killed alongside 19 students when the gunman stormed Robb Elementary School last Tuesday.
Two days later, her husband died of a heart attack that family said was brought on by the grief of his loss.
Guests look on as the caskets arrive for a joint funeral service for Irma Garcia and Joe Garcia at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay
Pallbearers carry a casket during the joint funeral for Irma and Joe Garcia. James KeivomThe couple, who were married 24 years, are survived by their four children — two daughters and two sons.
“It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragic tragedy,” Joe’s cousin, Marina Rodriguez, 45, told The Post after the funeral.
None of their children addressed mourners during the service.
Irma Garcia was one of the victims of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting, and her husband, Joe Garcia, died suddenly two days later. REUTERS“It’s heartbreaking, heart wrenching – to lose both of your parents.”
The couple had met in high school and their relationship “flourished into a love that was beautiful and kind,” according to their joint obituary.
The couple’s 15-year-old daughter had penned a heartfelt tribute to her parents that she left at a memorial outside the school in the days after the massacre, saying their names would never be forgotten.
The couple’s caskets are carried into Hillcrest Memorial Cemetery. James Keivom“Dad, I know this was too much for you. Your heart could not take it,” Lyliana Garcia wrote of her father’s passing. “I will spend the rest of my life fighting for you and mom. Your names will not be forgotten.”
Another funeral was held at the same church Wednesday afternoon for 10-year-old Jose Flores Jr.
He had made the honor roll and was pictured proudly holding his certificate just hours before the shooting.
Jose’s father previously told CNN that his son loved baseball and video games and “was always full of energy.”
The funerals and burials for the massacre victims began Monday and are set to continue into mid-June.
With Post wires
