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Late firefighter, Care campaign founder to be transported to his funeral on CCFD's pink fire truck

Lester Garza was a member of the Corpus Christi Fire Department for 29 years before retiring in 2016.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Funeral services will be held Saturday for longtime firefighter and paramedic Lester Garza.

Garza died last week after a long battle with cancer. He was 61.

Garza was one of the founding members of the Corpus Christi Fire Department's Care T-Shirt campaign, which raises money for firefighters battling cancer.

As one his final wishes, Garza will be carried on the back of the CCFD's pink firetruck to his final resting place.

Garza was a member of the CCFD for 29 years before retiring in 2016. He also served as a paramedic with Driscoll Children's Hospital's Transport Team for 18 years. His friend said he loved his occupation, and that included raising money and awareness for cancer research through the Care campaign.

According to Carlos Torres, President of the Corpus Christi Firefighters CARE group, Garza was noble in his cause up until the very end. 

"He was selling t-shirts until the very end a couple of weeks ago," Torres said. "He was there selling t-shirts. This was his passion and his calling in life. I truly want to thank the family for allowing us to have Lester for the time we had him."

Visitation will be held at Memory Gardens Funeral Home in Corpus Christi from 5-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. Celebration of Life Services will be held at Memory Gardens at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.,with burial to follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.

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