Sylvia Garcia

Sylvia Ruth Garcia, 73 of Madison, Wisconsin, passed away at UW Hospital on June 29, 2024 surrounded by her loving family. Sylvia was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin to Benito Garcia and Isabel Arreazola. Sylvia graduated from Waukesha South High school and went on to pursue her dreams at UW-Madison. Sylvia was the first recorded Chicana to graduate from the UW Madison as an undergrad. During her time at the UW Madison, it was the 70’s and the Chicano/a students were few and far between as well as poorly represented. Sylvia connected with those other students and joined the progressive group La Raza Unida Student Organization where she served as vice president and soon after became the first female president of the organization. Sylvia was Chingona before anyone at the UW-Madison even knew what to make of it, or do about it. Badass and brave, strong and spirited, the quiet leader type, the calm through the storm type, the lighthouse on the shore marking a consistent safe haven type. Her character was just that magnetic kind that quietly drew you in. She was and is admired and loved by so many.

Post-graduation from the UW-Madison, Sylvia continued her fight for the underrepresented and worked as a DEI professional in the 90’s and in the early 2000’s returned to the UW-Madison working for the Chicano/a Latino/a Studies program where she supported hundreds of students in achieving their educational and professional dreams. Throughout her life, Sylvia founded the Latino Health Council as well as participated in and led many different organizations that provided guidance and support to the underrepresented communities of Madison; to name a few, the Wisconsin Women’s Minority Network, Mujer Latina, and American Cancer Society. Nothing could stop Sylvia from fighting the good fight, not even when she almost lost her life to stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 38 years old. Sylvia would go on to tell her daughters that while she was laying on her deathbed and having the priest give her last rights, all she could do was take comfort in her faith and ask God, please let me live to see my girls grow up to be women. And by the grace of God, she did. We always knew Sylvia was on borrowed time and we all lived like it. For her 70th birthday, her girls took her on the trip of a lifetime to Italy, Greece and Croatia. Sylvia told her girls that she always wanted to dip her toes in the Mediterranean Sea and of course, she made it happen.

Sylvia was the matriarch in her family and loved being surrounded by her close and extended relatives. She made a point to attend her Arreazola family's annual summer picnic and Christmas party every year. Sylvia especially looked forward to tamale night which was a tradition where the family gathers the night before the annual Arreazola Christmas party and makes a large batch of delicious tamales. The family could not completely approve of the masa for the tamales unless Sylvia had given the official approval. As her cousin Tia would describe Sylvia, she was always this sort of family icon to look up to, her own version of regal, this untouchable greatness, full of secrets and wisdom, but to her two daughters Laura and Lorissa, she was first and foremost Mama.

Sylvia’s legacy lives on in her two daughters, Laura (Dustin) Banuelos and Lorissa Banuelos; her best friend and most trusted confidant, her sister Beatrice Riojas, brothers David Garcia and Benito Garcia Jr.; her beloved fur baby Sasha, her nieces whom she loved like her own daughters and many other admiring close family and friends. Sylvia is preceded in death by her mother and father, Benito and Isabel Garcia.

Visitation will be from 12:00 PM until the celebration of life service at 2:00 PM on Saturday July 20, 2024, at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Rd., Madison, WI, 53705.

In lieu of flowers, we ask donations be made to the Chican@ and Latin@ Studies Development Fund: https://bit.ly/4bGRSw9.