Sister Carmel Garcia died June 12, 2012, at Nazareth Motherhouse in Concordia. She was 73 years old and a Sister of St. Joseph for 55 years. She was born in Aragon, NM on January 15, 1939, to Ernest and Virginia (Castillo) Garcia, the first of five children, and was baptized Rebecca. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, Concordia, on September 8, 1956. On March 19, 1957, Rebecca received the habit of the Sisters of St. Joseph and was given the name Sister Marie Carmel. She pronounced first vows on March 19, 1958 and final vows on March 19, 1961. Sister Carmel received a BA in Spanish from Marymount College, Salina, and a M.Ed. in Education from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. She taught in schools staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Chicago, IL, Gladstone, MI, Salina, Junction City, and Abilene. Beginning in 1974, Carmel served the poor in El Paso, TX, and Palomas, Mexico; Silver City, NM and Las Cruces, NM. In 1992 Carmel became Executive Director of El Refugio, a center for families of domestic violence in Silver City, NM. Upon moving to Concordia in 2002, S. Carmel became the Director of Development for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Concordia. She held this position until her retirement in 2010.

Sister Carmel was preceded in death by her parents and one brother. She is survived by two sisters, Lucinda Aragon of Aragon, NM, Trinnie Romero of Phoenix, AZ; one brother, Rupert of Silver City, NM. A Bible Vigil Service will be held Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the Nazareth Motherhouse Chapel with Sister Esther Pineda as the eulogist. The Mass of Christian Burial will be June 15, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel, Father James Hoover presiding. The burial will be in the Nazareth Motherhouse Cemetery. Memorials for Sister Carmel Garcia may be given to the Sisters of St. Joseph Health Care/ Retirement Fund or the Apostolic Works of the Sisters; P.O Box 279, Concordia, KS 66901.