CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — We've learned that COVID has claimed the life of another well-known Corpus Christi resident overnight.
If the name Johnny Garcia doesn't sound familiar to you, then you probably never got your haircut at the Hamlin Barber Shop.
Garcia was the go-to guy when it came to men's haircuts in Corpus Christi; no one knew him better than one of his customers.
He was born into a family of migrant farm workers from Robstown, toiling the fields, picking cotton and other commodities that fed American families and clothed the world.
At a young age, he put himself through barber school.
"When he was 17, he got his barbers license and started working at Hamlin salon," longtime friend David Loeb said. "He worked there five years, bought it at 22. He was one of our community's first Hispanic self-made business owners."
Loeb was just a young man when he first met Garcia. Loeb's father, Leon, purchased the Hamlin Shopping Center where Garcia had already been in business for close to 20 years.
During all that time, Leob, his father, and anybody who was anybody would visit with Garcia at his shop.
"[Garcia] cut the hair of I think four presidents, dozens of mayors, city council members, judges," Loeb said. "I mean every time I was in the shop I'd see somebody."
To say he was just a barber, you'd be mistaken. To thousands, he was a teacher and mentor. To thousands more, he was a good listener, but to all, he was a friend.
The guy everyone knew had a strong handshake and a ready smile, but out of all his attributes, at the top, said Loeb, was that he was a true businessman admired by many, especially his dad, Leon.
"My dad got some sort of business award in the early 2000's and somebody asked him when he was giving his speech and they asked who do you admire most in business and Johnny was there and my dad had gone to Harvard and gotten an MBA and so everyone was expecting some sort of CEO or somebody like that," Loeb said. "My dad pointed at Johnny and said that man."
Garcia leaves behind a wife three sons, one daughter and many many friends.