Orlando Zapata Garza

The Garza Luck By Orlando’s Oldest Daughter, Melanie Garza For those of you that are close to Orlando you may have heard him talk about “The Garza Luck.” If something went wrong, or broke or there happened to any sort of misfortune he was quick to cite “The Garza Luck.” In fact, Orlando did have “The Garza Luck” and it was a truly special gift that many of us can only hope for. With Orlando’s Garza Luck he stayed married to his high school sweetheart for nearly 41 years. They were two young kids who were so crazy in love they eloped in Edmonton, Kentucky on September 1, 1970. Their theme was “You and Me against the World” and for the last 40 years they’ve journeyed together through life’s ups and downs and now remain “soul mates”. With Orlando’s Garza Luck he was fortunate to have both of his parents into his 50’s and throughout his life he always tried to make them proud. He had a special bond with both of them. He visited them often and was sure to have their house decorated for every holiday with handmade giant Santa’s, Turkeys or Halloween monsters. He also moved his mother into his house after his dad passed where she made him tortillas daily. Despite his special bond with his parents, he was quite a character and all boy growing up. He picked on his sisters and younger brother, even blowing up their dolls for fun. With his older brother Oscar, and best friends Doug and Jeff, he tore up Swanton as teen with fast cars and lots of girlfriends … until he met Kathy. As young married man at 21, he took a job with Toledo Edison and learned a hard lesson about life and power. He trained hard to become a journey man who could repair live power lines in all kinds of weather. Over the years the family had to postpone many holidays and events because he was on-call. As an electrician he knew the seriousness of handling high voltage and he eventually became a senior lineman with his own crew. He was a proud senior lineman for 36 years before retiring in 2009. He is known to have trained some of the best lineman in the industry and today they are here to carry him home. With Orlando’s Garza Luck he raised three healthy children, Melanie, Stefanie, and a son with his own name Orlando the Second. As a proud dad, Orlando stayed close to his children teaching them to ride bikes, work on cars and lessons about life. Melanie was his oldest and like her dad, always tried to make her parents proud. One of Orlando’s proudest moments was seeing her graduate with her master’s degree last Saturday. With Stefanie he never went without black socks and she also made him a Papa for the first time with the birth of Jeremiah in 1996. She is a nurse who has helped him for years with his diabetes. And with Orlando II he had his only son and the two were inseparable as he was growing up. Orlando was his “Monkey Man” and to this day they spent nearly every day together. There is no doubt that the greatest part of “The Garza Luck” is being a PaPa to seven beautiful and healthy grandchildren, Jeremiah, Mercedes, Brooke, Tara, Allison, Justin, and Codey. He cherished each and every one of them and enjoyed a special connection with them all. For Father’s Day this year he bought himself a trampoline … for them all to play on. Christmas at the Garza house is a crazy scene where he would dress up as Santa and have an endless supply of gifts. But it is not the gifts these children will remember as they grow up, it is all the fun they’ve had with their PaPa. He would sit down and play with dolls and even dress up too. With his boys he would play with cars, trucks and wrestle. He enjoyed watching Jeremiah grow from a young boy to teenager and taught him all about cars including how to do a burnout the day before he died. He was a man’s man and enjoyed his toys throughout his life. He’s had a number of sports cars and Harley’s over the years including a Baracuda, Charger, several Mustangs, and the 1969 440 Roadrunner he bought himself as a retirement gift. Orlando was happiest with his family, especially at the campground. He’s been an avid camper since his girls were young at Jellystone, then Marble Lake and the past three years at Hickory Acres. He was extraordinary close with his children, grandchildren and sisters and brothers. He also loved to travel and enjoyed riding his Harley with Bruce, Elden and Tim. Orlando was a fun and great man who had quite a sense of humor. He loved to joke around, play practical jokes on family and friends; and had a number of one-liners including his famous “Use Your Head a Woodpecker Does.” Despite having Type 1 Diabetes and being insulin dependent for 35 years, he was always busy working on something. Over the last couple of years, the Diabetes had really taken a toll on Orlando and he was having increasing more trouble controlling the disease. The Diabetic reactions were coming more and more frequently. We know he was busy wrapping up loose ends and completed the final project on his house last Thursday with the help of Jeremiah. Later that night he had a final reaction and then a heart attack while sleeping. We can have faith that he is now at peace with his beloved parents, sister and brothers who he missed so dearly. He was just shy of 60 and managed to duck out of yet another party we were planning for him. Well … here’s to you Orlando … see the enormous amount of friends you have while we celebrate your life with us. Your presence made us Lucky to know you. We will miss you dearly … ride on Orlando, ride on.