Elias Garcia Pereda's Obituary
Elias Garcia Pereda, eldest son of Antonio and Isabel Pereda, was born July 20, 1937 in Miami, Arizona. His beloved wife of 61 years, Nanci Lee Swallow, precedes Elias in death. Two younger brothers, also pre-deceased Elias, Ralph and Moises.
Elias passed away peacefully on April 30, 2022 with his three children, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and one of his granddaughters by his side. He is survived by his three children, son Andre (Andy) Antonio Pereda and wife Sylvia Garcia Pereda, daughter Nina Pereda Scott and husband Michael Scott, as well as daughter Nicole Pereda.
He leaves behind 6 siblings (Charles, Robert, Jose, Tony, David and Rosa), 5 grandchildren (Marcos, Tony Jr, Angelina, Sabrina and Elani) in addition to 4 great-grandchildren (Angelo, Jackson, Camila and Daniel).
In 1958 Elias and Nanci met in Albany, California and then married in 1960. Prior to meeting Nanci, Elias served 4 ½ years total in the Army Infantry as a Bugler, and was a member of the US Armory National Guard. Part of his time was served overseas in the Korea DMZ combat zone area which was still active, shortly after the Korean War Armistice was signed.
Elias and Nanci raised their three children together, moving between the East Bay Area, California; and Phoenix, Arizona; eventually settling in Newark, California in 1983.
From a young age, Elias was exposed to music, and loved it! His first musical influence came from his mother, Isabel, who sang on the radio with Trio De Los Panchos in Mexico. Later, to help earn money for his family, Elias started shining shoes and would offer to sing songs for an extra 10 cents per song. In elementary school he learned the trumpet.
After marrying Nanci, Elias worked hard as a professional musician and band leader, with Nanci at his side making song arrangement binders for each band member, and managing the bookkeeping, as he and the bands would play at different events and venues, performing songs ranging from Mexican / Latino classics, top-40 hits, rock, jazz and swing. He would later at the age of 50 follow up on a dream since childhood, buy a Baldwin baby grand piano, and learn to play the piano.
With a love for math and some college courses under his belt, Elias also worked as a Computer Aided Draftsman assisting with the Hubble Space Telescope project at UC Berkeley, and later at Fairchild, Beckman Instruments, as well as for other companies in Silicon Valley.
Besides music, Elias also enjoyed prayer, family time, poetry, movie classics, and The Three Stooges.
Elias will be missed tremendously, by his family, and all who knew him!
Service date and times shown below:
Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Homes of Hayward, located at 32992 Mission Blvd. Hayward, CA 94544
Phone: (510)471-3363
Viewing inside Mission Chapel - Saturday, May 21st from 4:00 to 8:00 pm
Please bring letters, photos and trinkets that remind you of Elias to include in a memorial capsule at the service.
Memorial Service inside Mission Chapel - Sunday, May 22nd from 12:00 – 2:00, internment immediately following
Celebration of Life at the home of Elias and Nanci Pereda after internment:
5517 Fernwood Dr.
Newark, CA 94560
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