LOS ANGELES — Marcus Garcia, division vice president of operational excellence for Aspire Bakeries, died April 1, due to complications from throat cancer. 

Mr. Garcia was born Dec. 18, 1972, in Oxnard, Calif. In his more than 25 years in manufacturing, he excelled at Lean Manufacturing with extensive insight in discovering operational excellence and team efficiencies through his expertise in Six Sigma, Kaizen, HACCP and GMPs. 

Mr. Garcia’s career ended at La Brea Bakery, now Aspire Bakeries. He served there for seven years, first as continuous improvement manager, before being promoted to bakery director of La Brea Bakery’s Van Nuys, Calif., facility. In June 2021, Mr. Garcia was promoted to division vice president of operational excellence for Aspire post his last treatment of chemotherapy and radiation in October 2020. With his focus on data-driven operations and finding every efficiency, he championed the concept of Aspire Operational Excellence to improve operations across the board. 

In his free time, Mr. Garcia had a passion for baseball, taking the motorhome out to camp with his wife and spending time with his family.  Mr. Garcia played baseball himself during little league, high school and college, which turned into a passion for coaching the game. He coached little league, high school and some junior varsity college baseball. He was fortunate to coach his son during all levels. 

“Over the years, Marcus took his inspiration from his family and his hard work ethic,” said his wife Victoria Garcia. “He strived to make people and his community a better place. Coaching baseball in Ventura County helped build his foundation to excel and thrive in his passion for the manufacturing industry and bakery manufacturing.”

He is survived by his wife and children Jasmin and Hunter.