Thousand Oaks - Thousand Oaks lost a piece of its history on May 8, 2026, when Tony Garcia passed away in his sleep. The former accountant for the Janss Corporation under Edwin Janss, Jr moved to Thousand Oaks in 1970 with his wife Mary and his two sons, Larry and Dan. He was born in San Bernardino, CA in 1927.

Tony's father, Juan R. Garcia, was a prominent businessman who owned neighborhood markets during the Great Depression. Tony worked in those markets and used to say, "If the customers didn't eat the Filet Mignon, then I guess we had to!" As World War 2 began, the family moved to Mexico to shield Tony and his brother Joe from the draft. They bought a ranch and settled in; however, both sons came back to California to enlist in the Navy. Tony bragged that "The Japanese surrendered to me, personally, because they saw me coming!" His ship, the USS Roi, was given orders to head to Japan shortly after the Battle of Okinawa, and soon thereafter the Japanese surrendered. He was touring the USS Missouri the night before but received orders to head to Hawaii the next morning and missed the signing ceremony.

After the war his family had returned to San Bernardino, and he worked at the new market while he attended Skadron Business College. After graduation he worked for Fenster accounting until 1969. He and his family lived in Colton, CA until then.

He was very happy at Janss Corporation and felt very fondly of Mr. Janss, who showered his employees with gifts and Dodger tickets. His last accounting position was with Tom Coward Ford in Oxnard. Curiously, he finished his career working as a bus driver for RTD (Metro) in Los Angeles. He loved that job, as it "Got me out of the office so I could see what the world looked like!"

Tony loved taking long walks while holding Mary's hand, hiking, camping and taking the long way home every chance he could get. He rarely drank and always had a project. The biggest one was the family genealogy, which he traced back to Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, William the Conqueror and finally Clodie I, in 20 BC. His music was 1940's Swing, Country and Mariachi. He loved the Lakers and the Dodgers.

He would solve intellectual arguments by saying "Look it up, research it and get back to me then we'll have something to talk about!"

He traveled the world with Mary and always longed for "One last trip." His favorite thing was cuddling with his wife on the sofa while watching TV. They did that until Mary passed in 2023. He would say, "I miss my old gal."

Tony is survived by his two sons, Larry and Dan, five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.