Local developer has her heart helping increase health care in SC

JIM SULLIVAN CA 408 705 3322

As co-owner of Glenrock Builders, Glenda Garcia has had a hand in building hundreds of homes throughout the Bay Area, but a different cornerstone of life — accessible health care for everyone — is one of her biggest passions.

“I will fight for health care always,” Garcia, 81, said.

Her fiery determination stems from her volunteerism with the Daughters of Charity 40-plus years ago, when the society operated O’Connor Hospital in San Jose.

Garcia’s volunteer work with hospitals began shortly after she and her husband of 51 years, Rocke, moved to Morgan Hill in 1974.

Born in McAllister, Oklahoma, Garcia thought she was going to be a teacher. While studying English at Central Washington College, she said “the world opened up” when she took some journalism courses.

She left school before graduating after meeting her first husband and becoming pregnant. She went onto have two daughters, who are two years apart in age.

A job change for her ex-husband meant a move to San Jose. They divorced shortly after, and she married Rocke in 1973. The couple bought a lot from his father and moved to Morgan Hill a year later. Glenrock Builders was launched in 1977.

At about the same time, Garcia volunteered for a local school bond measure then for a fundraiser for the Children’s Home Society, which in the 1960s was the largest private adoption agency in the world. It shifted to helping families receive quality childcare in the 1990s.

After volunteering for the Daughters of Charity at O’Connor Hospital, Garcia became a member of the hospital’s foundation and Board of Trustees. She said the Daughters of Charity commitment to serving individuals who are most in need inspired her to give back.

“They influenced me the most and have my heart,” she said.

Photo by Robert Airoldi. Glenda Garcia in front of the Sunsweet Apartments she and her husband Rocke developed.

She went onto work as a crisis liaison for the hospital’s emergency room. She recalled when a woman asked if she would sit with her husband, who was on his death bed.

“I told her, ‘What an honor you just asked. I’d be happy to do that,’” she said.

On another occasion, she sat with three teenage children whose mother had just overdosed.

“I will never ever forget that,” she said.

Her passion for health care was ignited again five years ago when St. Louise Hospital and DePaul Health Center were on the brink of shuttering when the company that owned them filed for bankruptcy.

“You can’t let 100,000 people be without health care,” she said.

Santa Clara County bought the hospitals, also including O’Connor Hospital, ensuring that vital medical care remained in South County.

Garcia said that the decision was “the best thing that ever happened.”

“It saved health care for South County and has proven to be invaluable to our two communities,” she said.

She said that she is of the firm belief that everyone is entitled to health care.

“I’ve seen families experience things that no one should have to go through. No one should be denied health care,” she said.

She lauded the communities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill for coming together to support St. Louise Regional Hospital and De Paul Health Center, which is now called Valley Health Center.

“They’ve been unbelievably supportive of our fundraisers,” she said.

Garcia has been the chairperson for Friends of St. Louise, a community-driven effort to support and preserve St. Louise Hospital, for the past eight years and on the Board of Directors of the Valley Health Foundation for the past four years.

Garcia said she enjoys working with her husband at Glenrock Builders, which during the past decades has built hundreds of homes in San Jose and South County, including the Sunsweet Apartments in downtown Morgan Hill.

“I love when people move into the homes that we built. I just love it,” she said.

She and Rocke have four children between them, two sons and two daughters, as well as three rescue dogs and a rescue cat.

“We’re like every single family in the world. We have our ups and downs. We do the best we can. We have issues we have to deal with,” Garcia said.

They also have eight grandchildren, five of whom are college graduates.

“We tell our children we love them, and we tell them we love our grandchildren more,” she said laughing.

Their home on Priest Lake in northern Idaho, a family gathering spot, is one of her favorite places.

“I love going to Idaho. It’s just quiet. It’s wonderful,” she said.

When asked what advice she would give to other women pursuing their goals, Garcia said to stay strong.

“You have to understand it’s tough and not everyone is so kind. You have to be strong,” she said. “You’ve got to stand up. No one is going to stand up for you. You have to stand up for yourself.”

Kelly Barbazette is a freelance writer who has lived in Gilroy for more than 20 years.