MARGO LYNNE GARCIA

Animal-loving and tree-hugging Margo Lynne Verburg Garcia died Thursday, July 9, 2026, at age 77, in Tallahassee. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on March 4, 1949. Margo’s formative and elementary years were in St. Joseph, Michigan. Her junior high years were split between Atlanta, Georgia and Largo, Florida. Margo graduated from Largo High School in 1967 before attending St. Petersburg College. Margo met the love of her life, Armando “Mandy,” or “Manny,” in high school. They married a year and a half after her graduation. A year and a month later, she became a mother to their only child, Natalie. Her young, anti-war family lived in Tampa as Armando completed his undergraduate studies at the University of South Florida, then moved to Tallahassee so he could attend law school at Florida State University. They fell in love with Tallahassee, planted roots, and made it their permanent home. From childhood through the day she passed, Margo loved all of God’s creatures. Her passion for the humane care and treatment of living things became her life’s work. In her mid-to-late twenties, Margo and her close friends founded the Animal Aid Foundation and the Animal Aid Spay and Neuter Center. Their mission was to reduce the number of unclaimed dogs and cats being euthanized by providing affordable spaying and neutering thereby preventing unwanted litters. They succeeded. Over the 50 years Tallahassee’s low-cost Spay & Neuter Center has been in existence, the “Clinic,” Margo’s “second child,” has spayed or neutered tens of thousands of cats and dogs. Margo continued to be a pioneer by expanding the Spay and Neuter Center’s menu to include a full range of veterinary care. Margo believed in and loved equity, diversity, and inclusion. As a child of God and a long-term member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, she believed and practiced being a conduit for the extension of His mercy over all His works. Her pole stars were goodness, love, compassion, mercy, kindness, and patience. She imparted her love of living things, peace, and the need to protect our environment to her daughter Natalie Garcia Reed, who preceded her in death by a mere eight months. She is survived by Armando Garcia, her husband of 57 years, 8 months, and 9 days, and her loving granddaughters Claire (Alex) Kaiser, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Cathryn Reed, Tallahassee. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Animal Aid Foundation through their website’s donation page or by check delivered to 2270 Boone Boulevard, Tallahassee, Florida, 32303.

MARGO LYNNE GARCIA

March 4, 1949 - July 8, 2026