Olympia Mary Garcia Brunt

1LT US Army, Olympia Mary Garcia Brunt

Born: May 4, 1920, San Marcial, New Mexico
Died: November 29, 2014, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Female Veteran | US Army | World War II
Ancestry.com, “Olympia Garcia,” Public Member Photos and Scanned Documents.

Burial Site: SFNC, Section 21, Site 1280  

“Aid Wounded,” The Los Angeles Times, April 27, 1944, part III, 3.

Brunt, Olympia – Image 2

“Aid Wounded,” The Los Angeles Times, April 27, 1944, part III, 3.

Olympia Mary served in the United States Army Nurse Corps in both the Pacific and European Theatres during World War II. 1 While stationed in Europe she met and married William Swaim Brunt on June 6th, 1945, in Paris, France. 1

Garcia Brunt was born in San Marcial, New Mexico, the second of three daughters born to Juan Paul Garcia, a railroad employee, and Juanita Gallegos Garcia. 1, 2, 3 The family moved to Los Angeles, California, after the destruction of San Marcial by flood in 1929. 1 There, Garcia and her two sisters were raised and educated. 1 Garcia graduated from Huntington Park High School in 1938 and from the five-year nursing program at Los Angeles County Hospital in 1943. 1, 4

After the war, Garcia and her husband lived in Los Angeles, California, and Roseburg, Oregon, before settling in Dallas in 1959. 1 There, Garcia Brunt practiced nursing at the Wasco County Public Health Department and at Mid-Columbia Medical Center (formerly The Dallas General Hospital). 1 Following her retirement, she continued the practice of nursing for many years at area nursing homes. 1 Her obituary states that Garcia enjoyed her family, cooking, crocheting, and working as a volunteer crew member of the hot-air balloon “Mi Casa Shoe Casa,” during the annual International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 1

 

Notes:

  1. “Obituary of Olympia Mary Brunt: Riverside Funeral Home of Albuquerque.” Funeral Homes & Cremation Services… Accessed January 4, 2023. https://riversidefunerals.com/tribute/details/35767/Olympia-Brunt/obituary.html
  2. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
  3. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.
  4. Ancestry.com. U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-2016 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

Featured Image:
Ancestry.com, “Olympia Garcia,” Public Member Photos and Scanned Documents.

 

Prepared by Sue Ruth, Ph.D., Central New Mexico Community College