Alumnus Frank T. Garcia (J.D. '75, BBA '71) devoted five decades to justice, mentorship, and building his legacy at the University of Houston and beyond. Photos courtesy of Dr. Elizabeth M. Spankus and Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.
Nov. 05, 2025—The University of Houston Law Center and C. T. Bauer College of Business mourn the loss of Frank T. Garcia (J.D. ’75), a respected UH alumnus and a longtime legal practitioner with a career spanning five decades at Norton Rose Fulbright LLP (formerly known in the US as Fulbright & Jaworski). He passed away Oct. 10, 2025, just shy of his 77th birthday.
Garcia graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Bauer College in 1971. He then married his college sweetheart, the future Dr. Elizabeth M. Spankus.
“After that we both supported each other in the pursuit of higher education,” Spankus said. “Him in law, me pursuing medical school and residencies, and then starting practice.”
He earned a J.D. from the UH Law Center in 1975. While attending UHLC, Garcia worked part-time for Fulbright & Jaworski, often assisting renowned attorney Leon Jaworski, who served as a special prosecutor in the Watergate investigation and as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. As a law student, he was also a member of the Order of the Barons and the Houston Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Garcia joined the firm as a full-time associate in 1975, becoming a partner in 1983, and moving to “Of Counsel” status in 2014. He merged his interest in business and the law in building his business transactions practice. Garcia focused exclusively on the financing side of the balance sheet—publicly and privately placed debt, secured and unsecured credit facilities, letters of credit, cogeneration and project finance in the US and abroad, hedging, debt restructurings, public finance matters, intercreditor and syndication agreements, credit enhancements, as well as high yield, investment grade and commercial paper financings.
Garcia represented large national banks in the early part of his career, but the second half of his practice was devoted to borrower representation, including for some of the nation’s largest upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas companies.
He was known for his expertise in legal opinion matters, serving for many years on the American Bar Association’s Legal Opinions Committee and on various opinion projects for the State Bar of Texas.
Garcia demanded thorough preparation and incisive analysis in legal practice, according to Josh Agrons, partner at Norton Rose and Fulbright and a longtime friend of Garcia’s. “He was a tough negotiator, but always polite, even when confronted by opponents who were inclined to more combative postures,” Agrons said. “He was very loyal to young associates at the law firm and took great pains to train them to understand not just “how”, but also “why.” Those he trained benefited from his adept use of the Socratic method.”
He is remembered not only for his legal work and service to the bar, but also for his quick wit, his scholarly bent, and a profound sense of right and wrong that guided him throughout his professional career. “Frank was a great lawyer, a great colleague, and a truly great friend,” said Jay Olmstead, who worked with Garcia in the finance group at Norton Rose and Fulbright.
A native Houstonian, Garcia and his three brothers grew up in a modest home located in Houston’s Fifth Ward neighborhood. “Growing up with our parents and maternal grandmother, Frank…was essentially rooted in his parents’ values, guidance, and their ever-present support,” shared his brother John A. Garcia. “His outgoing personality, a reflection of his mother Dora, served him well professionally. His commitment to his responsibilities and unrelenting service to his clients, law firm and his integrity were influenced largely by his father, Ramon.”
Another brother, Raymond T. Garcia, shared that all four brothers agreed that they were incredibly fortunate to have their parents’ guidance. “Our parents did not tell us what to do and what not to do,” he said. “They guided us by example and then…[with only minor exceptions] left it up to us to decide how we conducted our own lives.”
All four Garcia brothers financed their own education, by working part-time, applying for scholarships and other assistance, and earned 11 college degrees between them — seven of them from the University of Houston.
Frank Garcia was also an avid supporter of UH, a devoted Astros fan, and a Kiwanis Club member. He is survived by his wife, and his brothers Ray Garcia, John Garcia, and Carlos R. Garcia.
“He was well loved,” said Spankus, who celebrated 54 years of marriage with Frank Garcia earlier this year.
