Obituary

Refugio “Ray” Garcia, Jr. Refugio “Ray” Garcia, Jr. went to our Lord on Saturday morning, August 27, with his family by his side. Refugio was born December 29, 1931 in Saticoy, California.Refugio grew up in Saticoy, and attended school at Holy Cross Catholic School in Ventura and Villanova Preparatory School in Ojai. He was captain of the baseball team at Villanova, and enjoyed football, track and tennis and was a varsity letterman.He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1952, and was assigned to the Provost Marshal/Security Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, California, where he served four years as an Air Police officer, Air Police staff sergeant, and Air Police administrative NCO. During his military service, he married his childhood sweetheart Georgia Hernandez, also of Saticoy. The two married July 12, 1953 in the original Sacred Heart Church in Saticoy, the “little white church” that was recently lost to fire.After his military service, Refugio went to work for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department in 1957, and retired in 1988. He was one of the first Latino officers in Ventura County. Over his career, he served under five different sheriffs.Refugio brought a unique set of skills to the Sheriff’s Department that included not only his bilingual/bicultural skills, but being a local native-born son, his in-depth knowledge of the Ventura County community. He attended the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, where he became an excellent photographer, and used his skills to contribute to the Sheriff’s Department’s first forensic crime lab. He developed many techniques for evidence collection, and his children and later grandchildren have fond memories of being photographed and fingerprinted by Dad!Refugio was involved in numerous professional and community service activities. Helping youth became a key crusade for Refugio. He organized several youth advocacy programs, as well as community car shows that allowed youth and law enforcement to come together in a non-hostile setting to share a common hobby. He practiced the concept of “community-oriented police relations” before it became an ideal for effective law enforcement. He was a “Peace Officer” first and a law enforcement officer second. He was always ready to counsel and help people who became involved with the criminal justice system.After retiring, Refugio continued to offer his knowledge and experience to the department as a consultant in the area of minority relations and cultural diversity training. He developed courses for the Police and Sheriff’s Academy, which he also taught. His work there was eventually used as a model by the State of California, and later became a mandatory training requirement for all law enforcement personnel. He continued working for the Sheriff’s Department until 2004.Refugio was very passionate about the concept of public service. In his work as an officer, he saw such a great need in the world and felt very moved to work for a just society for all. He poured his energies into a wide variety of community service activities, far too many to list. Some of these included serving as president of the Mexican-American Correctional Association (MACA), which had the goal of community intervention for troubled youth; El Concilio del Condado de Ventura; chairman of the board of the Vista del Mar Hospital in Ventura, where he was a strong advocate for bilingual mental health services; East Ventura Lions Club member, which works to provide eyeglasses and services along with help to the blind; board member for Goodwill Industries; and Food Share Banks, where he personally worked every Sunday, distributing bread to low-income families. But very special and dear to his heart were the many “Toys for Tots” Christmas parties he organized every year around the county, up until 2004. Refugio received many community awards throughout his years of service.