Scholarship named for Garibay

Lolita Harper

It was a familiar scene in front of the Garibay home on Wednesday

afternoon. Media vans filled the quiet Westside cul-de-sac. A shrine

to fallen U.S. Marine Jose Garibay adorned the front porch. And

members of the Garibay family graciously hosted dozens of strangers

who shoved cameras in their faces and asked numerous questions.

Garibay’s mother, Simona Garibay, held her strong composure

despite her overwhelming grief and said she understood the public’s

interest in her son’s story. She quietly thanked the community for

its outpouring of affection and made available a large cooler of

sodas for the crowd of journalists on her lawn.

The family’s generosity did not stop there. The purpose of the

scheduled press conference was to invite the general public to attend

any of three memorial ceremonies for Garibay and to announce the

formation of a new Marine mothers support group for Spanish-speaking

women and a scholarship foundation that will help Hispanic youth in

Orange County.

Jose Garibay joined the Marines when he was 18 years old, just

after he graduated from Newport Harbor High School, and was based at

Camp Lejeune, N.C. He and six others from his base were killed March

23 near Nasiriyah, Iraq, after encountering an ambush by enemy

troops, officials reported. Jose Garibay is the first of two Orange

County casualties reported in the war.

Urbano Garibay, Jose Garibay’s uncle, thanked the tremendous

outpouring of support from the community. He especially wanted to

thank the people of Costa Mesa, who continued to bring by cards,

flowers, donations and other gifts. The community’s generosity was a

Godsend and helped the family get through this trying time, he said.

“Somebody up there gives us the power to get through this,” he

said, pointing toward the sky.

Jose Garibay’s body was flown in from Delaware on Tuesday evening,

and services were immediately scheduled. Memorial services and a

rosary will be held Thursday evening, and the funeral is scheduled

for Friday morning at St. Joachim Catholic Church, he said.

In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be made to the

Jose Angel Garibay Memorial Scholarship Fund, established through the

Orange County Hispanic Educational Endowment Fund.

Two limousines and four buses will be on hand Friday to transport

the family and members of the general public to the burial site in

Riverside. The Orange County Transportation Authority donated four

buses for the occasion, two of which will be reserved for close

family and friends and the others to be open to the general public.

The limousines are for immediate family.

A short procession will travel through the streets of Costa Mesa,

escorted by Costa Mesa Police, en route to Riverside National

Cemetery, Sgt. Tim Starn said. Although the route has not been

“ironed out,” Starn expected the caravan to travel south on Orange

Avenue to 19th Street and to the Costa Mesa Freeway onramp off

Newport Boulevard.

Urbano Garibay urged the Hispanic community to join in any of the

memorial activities, provided their employers allow it. He noted the

various functions, in the evening and during the day, were scheduled

to accommodate more well-wishers without creating a conflict with

work.

“Please join us when you can, but not at the expense of your

work,” Urbano Garibay said in Spanish. “Maintain your work and your

livelihood.”

Simona Garibay -- with the help of Families Costa Mesa, Share

Ourselves, Hoag Hospital, the UCI Department of Social Work and

“somebody up there” -- will lend her support to other Marine mothers

who do not speak English and therefore cannot take advantage of

traditional family support networks.

“It helps me to talk about it, and it will help others to be able

to speak out with those who can understand them,” Simona Garibay

said.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.