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The Hampshire County, Massachusetts, mother of three lived for her children, her husband Joe Bock said in an interview with the Daily Voice.
Paula was killed Tuesday, Jan. 9, while returning to her Easthampton home after the car she was in was hit by a tractor-trailer in Hartford, Connecticut, state police said.
It was her daughter Alba's 13th birthday, Bock said. Paula's birthday was a day later.
"It was so important for her to get home," Bock said. "It meant so much for her to be here for it.
"... I remember (Paula) holding her after she had just been born and saying, 'There’s no better present than this."
Paula, a Spanish native, had returned from a trip to her home country on New Year's. She went to see her ailing 96-year-old father and her five brothers. It was a trip she made often.
Bock normally made the trip to JFK Airport to pick her up, but a two-hour delay forced them to hire a taxi service to take her home.
Paula was riding in a 2015 Nissan Rouge around 2:40 a.m. when it suddenly decelerated near Exit 29A on I-91, leading to the wreck, Connecticut State Police said. The driver received minor injuries in the crash, and the trucker was unharmed.
'She Brought People Together'
Paula Garcia and Joe Bock ran the company HomestaysUSA, which works to bring children from Spain to the United States for a month to immerse them in the culture.
"She brought people together," her husband said. "She loved giving people an outlet to learn about other cultures to help them understand one another."
She felt that much of the world's ills are because people won't communicate or empathize, he said.
The couple also fostered children when they could. "It was important for her to show these kids love and give them a good time," Bock said.
Paula was also environmentally conscious. That's why her family drives electric vehicles and has solar panels on their home. She spearheaded an anti-idling campaign at her children's schools to get parents to turn their cars off as they waited to pick up their kids.
"Once her heart got on a passion, that was that," Bock said. "She would see it through."
That drive extends to the people who loved her as well.
A GoFundMe was created to help pay for Paula's funeral expenses and to support her family. It has raised more than $20,000 in just a few hours on Wednesday, Jan. 10, Paula's birthday.
Click here for more information on the fundraiser.
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