Xavier Angel García, 65, of Fairmont, died on April 24 after a long illness which had intensified in the past year and a half. He was preceded in death by his father Ernesto García and his mother Estela García.
Xavier was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master's from West Virginia University. He also studied at the University of California at Davis and Tufts University, and he was a Danforth Scholar.
Xavier spent his professional life as a teacher in north central West Virginia, teaching at Suncrest Junior High, North Marion High School, and East Fairmont High School; his subjects were theater, speech, English, and Spanish. He directed generations of students in plays over the years and traveled throughout the region as a coach and judge with speech teams. He was a sponsor of many clubs, including Spanish Honorary, Film Club, and Chess Club, as well more whimsical groups like the Esperanto Ice Cream Society, the Tiddly Winks Team, and the Marmoset Admiration Society. He taught for many years at the Governor's Honors Academy and was honored often at the annual Favorite Educator banquet.
Although he was recognized as a rigorous teacher who loved his subjects and brought wide and deep knowledge to the classroom, he was even more celebrated and beloved for his personality. Students always knew they could find animal crackers and moon pies, a joke and a song, and a sympathetic ear in Mr. García's room. He loved to sing in the hallways, toss EFHS oranges to students for winning quiz games, engineer ludicrous classroom decoration projects, and carry on running jokes with his students. He took special joy in sharing his students' skills with younger children, bringing his Spanish students to sing Spanish Christmas carols to the pre-K and traveling with his theater students to perform puppet shows in elementary schools. He always encouraged his students to reach high academically, and he was rewarded by hearing of the educational and professional accomplishments of many of his students after graduation. But he was just as delighted every time he met a former student in the grocery store or at a ball game and heard about their current lives and how fondly they remembered having him as a teacher. It became a family joke that it was impossible to go out in public without some former student coming up to him and talking about how he had changed their life.
Xavier was a lifetime Catholic and a longtime member of Saint Peter's parish, where he worked with the youth group and served as a lector. His most cherished ministry was as a dedicated cantor and choir member. Parishioners often remarked on how much they enjoyed his simple, clear singing voice and his obvious passion for sacred music. He was always very grateful for the opportunity to lead his fellow parishioners in song.
Beginning in his college days, Xavier was an avid playwright, and over the years he wrote several plays which were produced both in school and church settings and by local theater companies. Xavier was also an amateur composer and continued writing songs throughout his final illness, singing them into a tape recorder at his bedside.
He is survived by his wife Cynthia Dykhoff García, his daughter Carolyn Rose García Thele and son-in law Dan Thele, and his son Dominic Javier García; his brothers Ernest García and Hector García and his sister Estela García; his parents-in-law Helen and Ed Dykhoff ; his siblings-in-law David and Lisa Dykhoff, Mark Dykhoff, Alan and Diana Dykhoff, Nancy and Scott Fechtig, and Matt and Susan Dykhoff; as well as nieces and nephews Chaim García, Mary García Bachman and Rebeca García, Chris Powers, Tiffany and Caleb Dykhoff, Nate and Charlie Fechtig, and Sam, Harry, Teddy, and Anna Dykhoff.
Xavier had an impact on many people's lives, and he will be greatly missed by family, friends, students, church, and community.
Visitation will be at the Ross Funeral Home, 801 Fairmont Avenue, on Friday April 29th from 2-8:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00. The Catholic Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, 407 Jackson Street, with Fr. Joseph Konikattil, Celebrant, Fr. Leonard Smith, Concelebrant and Deacon David Lester assisting. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Ross Funeral Home
April 2022
Xavier was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master's from West Virginia University. He also studied at the University of California at Davis and Tufts University, and he was a Danforth Scholar.
Xavier spent his professional life as a teacher in north central West Virginia, teaching at Suncrest Junior High, North Marion High School, and East Fairmont High School; his subjects were theater, speech, English, and Spanish. He directed generations of students in plays over the years and traveled throughout the region as a coach and judge with speech teams. He was a sponsor of many clubs, including Spanish Honorary, Film Club, and Chess Club, as well more whimsical groups like the Esperanto Ice Cream Society, the Tiddly Winks Team, and the Marmoset Admiration Society. He taught for many years at the Governor's Honors Academy and was honored often at the annual Favorite Educator banquet.
Although he was recognized as a rigorous teacher who loved his subjects and brought wide and deep knowledge to the classroom, he was even more celebrated and beloved for his personality. Students always knew they could find animal crackers and moon pies, a joke and a song, and a sympathetic ear in Mr. García's room. He loved to sing in the hallways, toss EFHS oranges to students for winning quiz games, engineer ludicrous classroom decoration projects, and carry on running jokes with his students. He took special joy in sharing his students' skills with younger children, bringing his Spanish students to sing Spanish Christmas carols to the pre-K and traveling with his theater students to perform puppet shows in elementary schools. He always encouraged his students to reach high academically, and he was rewarded by hearing of the educational and professional accomplishments of many of his students after graduation. But he was just as delighted every time he met a former student in the grocery store or at a ball game and heard about their current lives and how fondly they remembered having him as a teacher. It became a family joke that it was impossible to go out in public without some former student coming up to him and talking about how he had changed their life.
Xavier was a lifetime Catholic and a longtime member of Saint Peter's parish, where he worked with the youth group and served as a lector. His most cherished ministry was as a dedicated cantor and choir member. Parishioners often remarked on how much they enjoyed his simple, clear singing voice and his obvious passion for sacred music. He was always very grateful for the opportunity to lead his fellow parishioners in song.
Beginning in his college days, Xavier was an avid playwright, and over the years he wrote several plays which were produced both in school and church settings and by local theater companies. Xavier was also an amateur composer and continued writing songs throughout his final illness, singing them into a tape recorder at his bedside.
He is survived by his wife Cynthia Dykhoff García, his daughter Carolyn Rose García Thele and son-in law Dan Thele, and his son Dominic Javier García; his brothers Ernest García and Hector García and his sister Estela García; his parents-in-law Helen and Ed Dykhoff ; his siblings-in-law David and Lisa Dykhoff, Mark Dykhoff, Alan and Diana Dykhoff, Nancy and Scott Fechtig, and Matt and Susan Dykhoff; as well as nieces and nephews Chaim García, Mary García Bachman and Rebeca García, Chris Powers, Tiffany and Caleb Dykhoff, Nate and Charlie Fechtig, and Sam, Harry, Teddy, and Anna Dykhoff.
Xavier had an impact on many people's lives, and he will be greatly missed by family, friends, students, church, and community.
Visitation will be at the Ross Funeral Home, 801 Fairmont Avenue, on Friday April 29th from 2-8:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00. The Catholic Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, 407 Jackson Street, with Fr. Joseph Konikattil, Celebrant, Fr. Leonard Smith, Concelebrant and Deacon David Lester assisting. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Ross Funeral Home
April 2022
Xavier Angel García, 65, of Fairmont, died on April 24 after a long illness which had intensified in the past year and a half. He was preceded in death by his father Ernesto García and his mother Estela García.
Xavier was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master's from West Virginia University. He also studied at the University of California at Davis and Tufts University, and he was a Danforth Scholar.
Xavier spent his professional life as a teacher in north central West Virginia, teaching at Suncrest Junior High, North Marion High School, and East Fairmont High School; his subjects were theater, speech, English, and Spanish. He directed generations of students in plays over the years and traveled throughout the region as a coach and judge with speech teams. He was a sponsor of many clubs, including Spanish Honorary, Film Club, and Chess Club, as well more whimsical groups like the Esperanto Ice Cream Society, the Tiddly Winks Team, and the Marmoset Admiration Society. He taught for many years at the Governor's Honors Academy and was honored often at the annual Favorite Educator banquet.
Although he was recognized as a rigorous teacher who loved his subjects and brought wide and deep knowledge to the classroom, he was even more celebrated and beloved for his personality. Students always knew they could find animal crackers and moon pies, a joke and a song, and a sympathetic ear in Mr. García's room. He loved to sing in the hallways, toss EFHS oranges to students for winning quiz games, engineer ludicrous classroom decoration projects, and carry on running jokes with his students. He took special joy in sharing his students' skills with younger children, bringing his Spanish students to sing Spanish Christmas carols to the pre-K and traveling with his theater students to perform puppet shows in elementary schools. He always encouraged his students to reach high academically, and he was rewarded by hearing of the educational and professional accomplishments of many of his students after graduation. But he was just as delighted every time he met a former student in the grocery store or at a ball game and heard about their current lives and how fondly they remembered having him as a teacher. It became a family joke that it was impossible to go out in public without some former student coming up to him and talking about how he had changed their life.
Xavier was a lifetime Catholic and a longtime member of Saint Peter's parish, where he worked with the youth group and served as a lector. His most cherished ministry was as a dedicated cantor and choir member. Parishioners often remarked on how much they enjoyed his simple, clear singing voice and his obvious passion for sacred music. He was always very grateful for the opportunity to lead his fellow parishioners in song.
Beginning in his college days, Xavier was an avid playwright, and over the years he wrote several plays which were produced both in school and church settings and by local theater companies. Xavier was also an amateur composer and continued writing songs throughout his final illness, singing them into a tape recorder at his bedside.
He is survived by his wife Cynthia Dykhoff García, his daughter Carolyn Rose García Thele and son-in law Dan Thele, and his son Dominic Javier García; his brothers Ernest García and Hector García and his sister Estela García; his parents-in-law Helen and Ed Dykhoff ; his siblings-in-law David and Lisa Dykhoff, Mark Dykhoff, Alan and Diana Dykhoff, Nancy and Scott Fechtig, and Matt and Susan Dykhoff; as well as nieces and nephews Chaim García, Mary García Bachman and Rebeca García, Chris Powers, Tiffany and Caleb Dykhoff, Nate and Charlie Fechtig, and Sam, Harry, Teddy, and Anna Dykhoff.
Xavier had an impact on many people's lives, and he will be greatly missed by family, friends, students, church, and community.
Visitation will be at the Ross Funeral Home, 801 Fairmont Avenue, on Friday April 29th from 2-8:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00. The Catholic Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, 407 Jackson Street, with Fr. Joseph Konikattil, Celebrant, Fr. Leonard Smith, Concelebrant and Deacon David Lester assisting. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Ross Funeral Home
April 2022
Xavier was born in San Antonio, Texas and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and his Master's from West Virginia University. He also studied at the University of California at Davis and Tufts University, and he was a Danforth Scholar.
Xavier spent his professional life as a teacher in north central West Virginia, teaching at Suncrest Junior High, North Marion High School, and East Fairmont High School; his subjects were theater, speech, English, and Spanish. He directed generations of students in plays over the years and traveled throughout the region as a coach and judge with speech teams. He was a sponsor of many clubs, including Spanish Honorary, Film Club, and Chess Club, as well more whimsical groups like the Esperanto Ice Cream Society, the Tiddly Winks Team, and the Marmoset Admiration Society. He taught for many years at the Governor's Honors Academy and was honored often at the annual Favorite Educator banquet.
Although he was recognized as a rigorous teacher who loved his subjects and brought wide and deep knowledge to the classroom, he was even more celebrated and beloved for his personality. Students always knew they could find animal crackers and moon pies, a joke and a song, and a sympathetic ear in Mr. García's room. He loved to sing in the hallways, toss EFHS oranges to students for winning quiz games, engineer ludicrous classroom decoration projects, and carry on running jokes with his students. He took special joy in sharing his students' skills with younger children, bringing his Spanish students to sing Spanish Christmas carols to the pre-K and traveling with his theater students to perform puppet shows in elementary schools. He always encouraged his students to reach high academically, and he was rewarded by hearing of the educational and professional accomplishments of many of his students after graduation. But he was just as delighted every time he met a former student in the grocery store or at a ball game and heard about their current lives and how fondly they remembered having him as a teacher. It became a family joke that it was impossible to go out in public without some former student coming up to him and talking about how he had changed their life.
Xavier was a lifetime Catholic and a longtime member of Saint Peter's parish, where he worked with the youth group and served as a lector. His most cherished ministry was as a dedicated cantor and choir member. Parishioners often remarked on how much they enjoyed his simple, clear singing voice and his obvious passion for sacred music. He was always very grateful for the opportunity to lead his fellow parishioners in song.
Beginning in his college days, Xavier was an avid playwright, and over the years he wrote several plays which were produced both in school and church settings and by local theater companies. Xavier was also an amateur composer and continued writing songs throughout his final illness, singing them into a tape recorder at his bedside.
He is survived by his wife Cynthia Dykhoff García, his daughter Carolyn Rose García Thele and son-in law Dan Thele, and his son Dominic Javier García; his brothers Ernest García and Hector García and his sister Estela García; his parents-in-law Helen and Ed Dykhoff ; his siblings-in-law David and Lisa Dykhoff, Mark Dykhoff, Alan and Diana Dykhoff, Nancy and Scott Fechtig, and Matt and Susan Dykhoff; as well as nieces and nephews Chaim García, Mary García Bachman and Rebeca García, Chris Powers, Tiffany and Caleb Dykhoff, Nate and Charlie Fechtig, and Sam, Harry, Teddy, and Anna Dykhoff.
Xavier had an impact on many people's lives, and he will be greatly missed by family, friends, students, church, and community.
Visitation will be at the Ross Funeral Home, 801 Fairmont Avenue, on Friday April 29th from 2-8:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00. The Catholic Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, at St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church, 407 Jackson Street, with Fr. Joseph Konikattil, Celebrant, Fr. Leonard Smith, Concelebrant and Deacon David Lester assisting. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Ross Funeral Home
April 2022
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