GARCIA, HIPOLITO FRANK (1925-2002) Hipolito Frank "Hippo" Garcia, former U.S. District Judge, was born December 4, 1925, in San Antonio, Texas, to immigrant parents, Hippolito and Francisca Garcia. Garcia graduated from Brackenridge High School before enlisting in the army where he served in Germany during World War II as a tank driver. After returning, he received a law degree from St. Mary's University in 1951.

He started his law career as an assistant district attorney in Bexar County and served for 14 years before going into private practice. In 1964, Garcia was elected a county court judge. Ten years later, he was elected to be a state criminal court judge in Bexar County.

Garcia received his greatest notoriety after being appointed by President Carter in 1980 to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. As the first Mexican-American to hold a seat in the Western District, Garcia developed a well-known reputation as a humble, dignified and fair judge that went out of his way to befriend those that he crossed paths with.

Garcia died January 16, 2002 in San Antonio. He never married.