Obituary of Julie Garcia Schulze

On March 1, 2023, Julie, age 52, passed away at her home, in her bed surrounded by her entire family, after a hard fought two-year battle with cancer.

Julie was born on October 6, 1970 in Vermillion, South Dakota, and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado with her family when she was 14.  She graduated from Palmer High School (class of 1990) in Colorado Springs. She married the love of her life, John Schulze, on August 8, 1998. She worked for twenty years at Village Inn, three years at School District 11 and 20, two years at 7-Eleven, and then she became the proud owner of SummerSweet Frozen Yogurt Café in February, 2018. She ran SummerSweet until her diagnosis in June, 2021. Her biggest career aspiration though was to be a mom, and she was one of the best for the last eighteen years.

Julie was the light of our lives.  She would brighten any room, liven any party, and would not let you leave without a hug. Her pride and joy were her two children, Hayden and Isabel, and she was so looking forward to being a grandmother someday. Julie liked being around people and enjoyed doing anything with her family. Camping and hiking in the mountains were two of her favorites, and she would be the first to pull out the board games at a family get together. She was a proud hockey, dance, baseball, and gymnastics mom. She never missed a game, recital, or show.

Julie was so strong and more of a fighter than any of us ever knew. Her prognosis was grim from the very beginning, but Julie decided she was going to beat it. We did everything we could; multiple surgeries, chemo, experimental immunotherapy, non-traditional treatments in Mexico, procedure after procedure, tests and scans, and even when it got to the point that Julie herself had had enough, she still continued grueling procedures and treatments for several more months for us, her family. Through this journey we are thankful to have had all of the wonderful and caring doctors and nurses we did. We had an incredible experience (three times) down in Mexico, and met some of the best people we have met in our lives. The support we received from family, friends, and strangers was so amazing. Julie was so thankful, and so are we. We can’t thank you all enough.

Julie is survived by her husband of twenty-four and a half years, John Schulze; their two children, Hayden and Isabel; her parents, Roy and Betty (Brown) Garcia; her sisters, Jennifer (Ty) Haas, and Tanya (Mark) Avena; her brother, Jeremy (Elaine) Garcia; her sister-in-law, Jeanne Schulze; and several nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and many, many friends.

Flowers may be delivered to The Springs Funeral Services - North, 6575 Oakwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923.

Any memorial contributions will be directed in Julie's name to the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Tijauna, Mexico.

Visitation, 5:00PM-7:00PM, Sunday, March 12, 2023, The Springs Funeral Services - North, 6575 Oakwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923.

Funeral Service, 2:00PM-3:00PM, Monday, March 13, 2023, The Springs Funeral Services - North, 6575 Oakwood Boulevard, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80923.

Reception to follow at Black Forest Community Center, 12530 Black Forest Road, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80908.