Albert Lazaro Garcia

The Rev. Dr. Alberto Lazaro Garcia was called to his heavenly home by God on June 15, 2026, at the age of 79. He lived a life rooted in faith, family, and service. He was a scholar, a professor, an author, and a loving husband, father, and grandfather.

He was born on May 2, 1947, to Antonio Garcia and Norma (Giro) Garcia in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to the United States with his brother Ernest in 1960 as part of Operation Pedro Pan. He met Moraima "Mori" Yates, a Lutheran, while still in high school, and married her in 1968 at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Miami, Florida. Alberto's commitments to Mori and the Lutheran church defined him for the rest of his life. God blessed Alberto and Mori with two children, Yvette and Albert Phillip, and with one grandchild, Alana Marie Garcia Barton. Of his many titles, "Papa" was his most cherished. He baptized Alana and delighted in dressing up as St. Nicolas every December. His retirement to Atlanta can be entirely credited to his desire to play an active role in Alana's life. He enjoyed traveling, singing, dancing, and playing the guitar.

Alberto L. Garcia was the first Cuban exile ordained as a Lutheran pastor. He retired as professor of theology-emeritus at Concordia University Wisconsin. But behind every title was a deeper story: a pastor's heart that never stopped beating for the people on the margins. His academic path alone tells you something about his persistence and his curiosity. He earned his Associate's degree from Concordia University Texas, his Bachelor's in Philosophy with honors from Florida Atlantic University, his Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary, and both his Master of Theology and his PhD with honors in Systematic Theology from the Lutheran School of Theology. Concordia College in Bronxville, New York later honored him with a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, in recognition of a life of scholarship and service.

From 1991 to 2013, he served as professor of theology and Director of the Lay Ministry Program at Concordia University Wisconsin, teaching not only theology but faith and culture, and world religions in North America. He carried a distinction that mattered deeply: he was the first Latino professor at a Lutheran Church Missouri Synod seminary, opening a door that had not been opened before him.

Before that, from 1979 to 1987, he served at Concordia Theological Seminary as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Director of the Hispanic Studies Program. He taught as an adjunct professor at Florida International University in Miami from 1988 to 1989, and for over three decades, from 1989 to 2022, he shaped students through the Hispanic Ministries Program at Concordia Seminary.

And before the classroom ever called him, the church did. He pastored urban congregations among Latino communities of diverse cultural backgrounds, first in Chicago from 1974 to 1979, and later in Hollywood, Florida from 1987 to 1991.

Rev. Dr. Alberto L. Garcia was also a writer, a thinker who believed faith and culture were never meant to live apart. In celebration of the Reformation and in pursuit of a more inclusive church, he co-authored Wittenberg Meets the World: Re-Imagining the Reformation at the Margins with John A. Nunes. He co-edited Our 95 Theses: 500 Years after the Reformation with Justo L. González, Theology of the Cross for the 21st Century: Signposts for a Multicultural Witness with Victor Raj, and Christ and Culture in Dialogue: Constructive Themes and Practical Applications with Angus Menuge and others.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Antonio Garcia and Norma Triana.

He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Moraima (Yates) Garcia, children Yvette Garcia Barton (Keith) and Albert Phillip Garcia, granddaughter Alana Marie Garcia Barton, brother Dr. Ernest V. Garcia (Terri Spiegel), brother-in-law Joseph A. Yates, a host of nieces and nephews, and a menagerie of pets.

He leaves behind a legacy carried forward in the family he loved, the students he taught, the congregations he shepherded, and the doors he opened for those who came after him. He will be greatly missed, for what he provided to everyone can never be replaced.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on August 15, 2026, at St. Mark Lutheran Church, 2110 Brockett Rd., Tucker, GA 30084.

The service will be live streamed and recorded on the St. Mark Lutheran Church Youtube channel. www.youtube.com/@smlctucker

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Concordia Seminary St. Louis' Center for Hispanic Studies at this link: www.csl.edu/give (please choose the "Other" option and then type in "CHS" in the "Comments" box) or St. Mark Lutheran Church https://stmarklutheranchurch.wixsite.com/website/get-involved .

The Rev. Dr. Alberto Lazaro Garcia will be interred in Miami, Florida at a later date.