Félix Pabón García

Félix Pabón García was born on October 6, 1937, in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, and died on August 28, 2026, in New Haven, Connecticut, at the age of 88.

Félix came to Connecticut from his native Vega Baja at just 17 years old, drawn by his love of baseball and the opportunity to build a life for himself. A talented pelotero, he remained proud of his days as a ballplayer throughout his life.

In Connecticut, the tall, dark and handsome young Puerto Rican met Diana, a beautiful young woman who became his first wife and the love of his young life. Together they were a striking couple. They married and moved to California in the 1960s, where their son Gerry was born. They later returned East to New Haven to be close to Diana’s parents, Harry and Clara Weissman. Their second son, Marty, was subsequently born in New Haven. Félix and Diana were married for almost four decades, until Diana’s passing in 2008.

Faith and service became central to Félix’s life. He was involved in the Pentecostal church for more than 50 years and served as a pastor for more than three decades. With Diana’s support, he founded Luz del Mundo Church in New Haven, where his ministry touched generations of people and built a community of faith, friendship and support.

His commitment to service also reached far beyond New Haven. Félix traveled frequently to Cuba, where he developed close relationships with a church community, helped fund the establishment of a church, and provided financial assistance to families enduring poverty and hardship.

Félix was also a lifelong businessman and entrepreneur. He ran a bar, a bodega and other businesses. With Diana, he operated stands at the New Haven Flea Market on the Boulevard, selling quenepas, avocados, mangos, Puerto Rican cookies and other Caribbean goods. Later, he continued his flea market business at the Wallingford Flea Market. He never truly retired, continuing to manage the business even as his health declined.

After Diana’s passing, Félix met María Marinelli, a widow living in New Britain who had an established family of her own. They married and shared 17 years together. Over time, María’s children developed deep bonds with Félix, loving and respecting him as a father figure and turning to him for counsel. He became an integral part of a family that embraced him as one of its own.

Félix and María also shared a calling to ministry. Together they managed Luz del Mundo Church, both serving as pastors and dedicating their lives to faith and service.

Félix loved adventure and travel. He and Diana shared a love of seeing the world, traveling together to places including China, Morocco, Israel and Ireland, among many others. In the wake of Diana’s passing, Félix, Gerry and Marty traveled together to Argentina in her honor. He continued traveling later in life, including a memorable journey to Israel and Egypt with Marty.

Baseball remained part of Félix’s life to the end. Earlier this year, he traveled to Yankees Spring Training with his son Gerry and grandson Daniel—three generations of García shortstops sharing the game he had loved since boyhood.

Félix was proud of his sons, Gerry and Marty, and of the families and lives they built. Gerry shared his life with his wife, Magda, and Marty with his longtime partner, Jennifer Kaye. Félix took great pride in Marty’s career as a police officer and life of public service, and in Gerry’s civic service and later entrepreneurship. He supported Gerry’s public life, introducing him throughout his extensive church community, and appreciated seeing him follow in his entrepreneurial footsteps through a business committed to charitable giving and supporting future Jewish leadership.

He adored his grandchildren, Daniel and Hannah Garcia, and cherished the nickname they gave him: “Shasha.” He took great joy in being their grandfather and in being part of their lives.

Late in life, Félix was diagnosed with ALS. Even as his health declined, he remained optimistic, insisting that he was “getting better every day” and continuing to live as fully as he could. He died suddenly before experiencing the later stages of the disease.

Félix was predeceased by his parents, Ricarda “Candí” and Gregorio, and by his brother, Pocho. He is survived by his wife, María Marinelli; by his sisters, Luitarda, Nereida and Wilda; by his sons, Gerry and Marty; by Gerry’s wife, Magda; by Marty’s longtime partner, Jennifer Kaye; by his grandchildren, Daniel and Hannah Garcia; and by many nieces, nephews and cousins in Puerto Rico and Connecticut.

Félix leaves behind a legacy of faith, family, service and generosity, and generations of people and communities whose lives he touched. 

A funeral service celebrating Felix’s life will be held on Friday, September 4, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. in Beecher & Bennett Funeral Home, 2300 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Friends are invited to visit with his family from 9:00-11:00 a.m. prior to the service. Interment will be held in Mishkan Israel Cemetery, New Haven. Shiva will take place next Tuesday, September 8th and Wednesday, September 9th at the home of Gerry and Magda (216 Yale Avenue), with the home open from 6-8 p.m., with minyan at 7 p.m. each of those nights.

For online condolences, please see his obituary at www.beecherandbennett.com.