Community mourns loss of former member of Idaho’s first all-Latino city government
An “unsung hero” of a tiny Treasure Valley town and a member of a history-making Idaho city council has died due to complications caused by COVID-19.
Guadalupe “Lupe” Garcia died on Aug. 20, 2020, according to his posted obituary. He was 61 years old, a longtime resident of Wilder and served one term on the Wilder City Council. Garcia was a commissioner on Wilder’s Planning and Zoning Commission at the time of his death, where he also served for several years before joining city council.
Garcia’s election to Wilder City Council in 2015 helped the city of Wilder make history and national headlines when the four-member city council and mayor became the first all-Latino city government in Idaho history.
His sister Tila Godina — a sitting Wilder City Council member — said Garcia, who never married, was passionate about his family and his town. He was one of nine siblings, including Godina.
“For my brother, his community was everything,” Godina said. “Wilder was everything for him.”
According to Godina, her brother died a few weeks after a sudden hospitalization in West Valley Medical Center’s ICU in Caldwell. Although family members didn’t know why he was ill at first, he tested positive for coronavirus at the hospital.
Garcia’s death certificate confirms that he died of complications of COVID-19. It lists pneumonia, COVID-19 and sepsis. Pneumonia and sepsis are both known to accompany COVID-19. Pneumonia is one of the most common conditions associated with the coronavirus disease. Sepsis, a life-threatening immune response to infection, is one of the fatal complications that can end the life of a person with severe COVID-19. Most sepsis is caused by bacterial infections, but it can be a complication of other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza.
As of Oct. 9, at least 30% of Southwest District Health’s coronavirus cases with known race or ethnicity are Hispanic or Latino. The district covers Canyon, Owhyee, Gem, Payette, Adams and Washington counties. At least 31% of coronavirus cases in Canyon County and at least 47% of cases in tiny Wilder are Latino. Latinos continue to be disproportionately impacted by coronavirus across the state, making up more than 30% of Idaho’s coronavirus cases despite being only 13% of the population.
Friends, family mourn an “unsung hero” of the Wilder community
Although Wilder’s city government is no longer all-Latino, no other Idaho town has yet to reach that milestone. About three-quarters of the small farming community’s residents are Latino. Few Idaho towns have any Latino elected officials but Garcia told the Idaho Statesman in a 2016 article he didn’t even realize the symbolism of Wilder’s election at first.
“I think he took great pride in that,” said Godina, who was elected to the historic city council along with her brother.
Garcia spent most of his life using a wheelchair, after a car accident as a young man broke his spine. He rarely spoke of it or let it affect his life, his friends and family said, but he used his personal experience and platform to advocate for better access for Wilder residents living with disabilities.
Just before his death, he spoke to the Wilder City Council about how much work still needed to be done to make Wilder ADA accessible, citing his own experiences trying to navigate in his wheelchair. On July 14, the Wilder City Council passed a resolution :”A Proclamation of Recommitment to Full Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)“ and declared July 26, 2020, to be the Americans With Disabilities Awareness Day in Wilder.
“When you’re in a small community and you see something that needs to be done, you just do it,” said Rick Godina of the Community Council of Idaho. He went to high school with Garcia, and Godina is his sister-in-law. “I hope they remember all he did for the community of Wilder.”
Roy Valdez, the former deputy director of the Idaho Department of Labor, echoed the assessment of Garcia’s legacy in his beloved town. Valdez also grew up with Garcia, graduating from Wilder High School in 1978 with him and Rick Godina.
“He stuck with the community and didn’t leave,” Valdez said. “He symbolizes someone who took on that mission and completed it. He was certainly an unsung hero.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
