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‘He died of a broken heart’: Husband of hero Texas teacher Irma Garcia dies of a heart attack two days after she was shot and killed by gunman while shielding kids from bullets
- Joe Garcia died of a heart attack on Thursday, two days after his wife was killed
- Family say Joe died ‘of a broken heart’ after Irma was murdered by the gunman
- The pair were married for 24 years and had four children together
- Irma and fellow teacher Eva Mireles, 44, died ‘with children in their arms’
- The pair jumped in front of the kids to try to stop the gunman from murdering them
- Joe and Irma had four kids who are all teenagers or in their early 20s
The husband of one of the teachers murdered in Tuesday’s school shooting has died of a heart attack.
Irma Garcia, 46, was one of two teachers slaughtered by the gunman on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas.
On Thursday, her grief-stricken husband Joe died of a heart attack.
A GoFundMe page set up by the family says he died ‘of a broken heart’.
‘I truly believe Joe died of a broken heart and losing the love of his life of more than 30 years was too much to bear,’ Irma’s cousin Debra Austin said.
The couple’s nephew tweeted that he had died of ‘grief’.
‘Please pray for our family. God have mercy on us,’ he said.
The pair were married for 24 years and had four children. It’s unclear how old the children are.
Joe Garcia, the husband of hero teacher Irma, died of a heart attack on Thursday
Survivors from the shooting have told how Irma and fellow teacher Eva Mireles, 44, died shielding them from the gunman’s bullets.
‘She passed away with children in her arms trying to protect them,’ Garcia’s nephew John Martinez wrote on Twitter.
‘Those weren’t just her students, they were her kids as well.’
Irma Garcia, 46
Mireles’ daughter revealed how her mother ‘jumped in front of students’ in a heartbreaking tribute on Wednesday.
‘I don’t know how to do this life without you, but I will take care of dad.
‘I will take care of our dogs and I will forever say your name so you are always remembered, Eva Mireles, 4th grade teacher at Robb Elementary who selflessly jumped in front of her students to save their lives,’ Adalynn Ruiz wrote on Facebook.
Garcia, a married mother of four, had taught at Robb Elementary for 23 years and was previously named ‘teacher of the year’.
She was one of 19 San Antonio-area educators named as finalists for Trinity University’s prize for excellence in teaching in 2019.
Garcia at the time taught third grade, specializing in social studies and ELAR, or English Language Arts and Reading.
‘I am so excited to begin this new school year already!’ she wrote on the school district’s website before the start of the school year.
Joe and Irma Garcia with one of their kids. The couple had four children and were married for 24 years
Irma and Joe had been married for 24 years and the couple had four kids
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