Maria Luisa Garcia was called home by the Lord on November 28, 2020. Maria was born to Santos Gomez and Esperanza Leal in Mercedes, TX. She was baptized at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, also in Mercedes, TX. She was the youngest of their five children. She loved her brothers, Santos Jr. and Guillermo "Willie", and her sisters Minerva "Mine" and Ester. Maria married Tomas Garcia on December 30, 1968. Immediately, they moved to Illinois, where she lived with her mother-in-law, Natividad Trevino while Tomas served our country in the United States Army in the 1st Cavalry in the Vietnam War. When Tomas returned home, they started their beautiful family. Ray was born in 1970, Lorinda in 1972, and Christopher 1976. In 1996, Lorinda married Greg, and Maria gained a deeply loving son-in-law. Her first and only grandson, Ian, was born in 1999. In 2009, Christopher married Michele, and Maria gained a beautiful daughter-in-law. Maria was strong in her faith and loved the Lord. Through her strength, faith and abundance of love she was the backbone of her beautiful family. She was the sweetest, smartest, funniest, deepest-loving, fiery, feisty, strongest woman. She loved her family endlessly. She loved to laugh and hear laughter all around. She taught her children to be true to themselves, she taught them of God, and she taught them to love. She taught them to be there for one another, never fight with anyone, but stand for what you believe is true. Maria had a lead foot and was known to drag race in her Nova station wagon on the streets in Elmhurst. She was gifted with an amazing singing voice and often sang karaoke. Her favorite songs to sing were "What's Love Got To Do With It" by Tina Turner and "Crazy" by Patsy Cline. Her voice mesmerized anyone that heard her sing. She also loved to dance. When she and Tomas danced, everyone else stopped to admire their grace and talent on the dance floor. Maria also loved margaritas, gardening (her favorite was wildflowers), eating sweets (especially chocolate ice cream and Boston Creme donuts), arts & crafts, sewing (many a custom Halloween costume were made for her grandson) and science fiction movies (her favorite was "The Day the Earth Stood Still" 1951). Everyone that met Maria was touched by her sweet, loving, gentle ways and fell in love with her. She made friends everywhere she went, from the waitresses at her favorite restaurants to her neighbors, co-workers, fellow churchgoers, and medical staff. She was well-loved and will be deeply missed.