Leslie Tolchin Garcia was born September 22, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her parents, Lawrence Tolchin and Dorothy Bloom Tolchin, had three children, Janet, Leslie and Alan. All three children were raised in the Jewish faith, and they lived in a predominantly Jewish area of Pittsburgh. Though she didn’t attend temple often, Leslie was proud of her Jewish heritage throughout her life. One of the things Leslie will be remembered for is the various Jewish dishes she prepared including fried matzah, stuffed cabbage, and salami & egg, all of which were family favorites.

Over the years Leslie, Janet, and Alan remained very close as siblings, so much so that they made sure their children remained close throughout their lives. All of the cousins still look forward to and enjoy spending time together as often as occasion permits.

After attending Peabody High School for her freshman year and part of her sophomore year in Pittsburgh, Leslie moved with her family across the country to Los Angeles where she attended John Marshall High School. She graduated in 1963. One story that Leslie shared about her time in high school was about a classmate who was blind. The classmate would always recognize Leslie’s voice and would find his way to class by following her. Another story she shared was regarding her senior prom. Before the prom, she and her date and their friends went to see Johnny Mathis (her favorite singer of all time) at The Coconut Grove in Los Angeles. She would end up seeing Johnny in concert many times throughout her life.

After graduating high school, Leslie eventually went to work at Blue Cross in Los Angeles where she met the love of her life, Leonidas (Leo) Garcia. Leo has said he was first attracted to Leslie because of her beautiful blue eyes. They started dating and were eventually married on June 10, 1966.

Most of Leslie’s professional career was spent in the microfilming industry. She worked at various companies in Los Angeles and the South Bay before going to work at the Press Enterprise newspaper and eventually Custom Microfilm Services, both in Riverside.

Later in life, when Leo’s job required him to start traveling, he and Leslie had the opportunity to travel to many parts of Europe and Panama where Leo was born and grew up. They also had the opportunity to travel in the United States and even lived in New York City for approximately one year in the 1990’s.

Leo and Leslie had four sons, Eric, Eddie, Mark and David. The family lived in Los Angeles and Hollywood during their early years, eventually settling in the South Bay in Torrance and Redondo Beach. In 1979, the family moved to Riverside. Leslie loved her sons more than anything in this world. One of her sons, Mark, was born deaf in 1970. Leo and Leslie eventually found out there was a school in Riverside for deaf kids. Though it was a sacrifice, she and Leo decided to move their family to Riverside so Mark could attend CSDR. They raised their children in Riverside and ended up living there for the majority of their marriage, approximately 35 years. Leo and Leslie moved to Las Vegas in 2014. When Leslie’s health started to decline, she and Leo eventually moved to Orem, UT. On March 22, 2026, at the age of 80, Leslie passed away peacefully at home in Orem with Leo, her husband of almost 60 years.

One thing Leslie loved was watching her sons play little league baseball while growing up. She even served as team mom on occasion. There were many days when her boys would have games on three different fields at the same time. Leslie would walk around to each field during the games to watch her sons play.

Leslie was a wonderful mother and was fiercely loyal to her children. There were many times that her children would call her at work to let her know they did not like what was being served in the school cafeteria. Leslie would oftentimes leave work to bring her children the food they enjoyed. This practice continued with her grandchildren. She would do anything for her children and grandchildren.

Leslie is survived by her husband, her four sons, 17 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren. She will be remembered as a wonderful and loving wife, mother, bubbie and great bubbie. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother and sister.

A memorial service for Leslie will be held on May 16, 2026 at 11:30 am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 1485 N 800 W, Orem, UT 84057.