The Galvan Family Story
The story of the Galvan family in Valley Junction begins with Crespin Galvan and Amilia “Emily” Valdez Galvan – a couple whose roots stretched from Texas to Des Moines, but whose hearts were firmly on the Southside. Crespin, born in 1921, was known as a “junk man”, buying and selling old cars, always with a knack for spotting potential in what others had given up on. Emily, born in 1919, carried herself with quiet strength and the kind of steadiness that could hold a large family together.
Noise, Work and Love Under One Roof
Together, they raised eleven children: Chris, Gregory, Raymond, Albert “Butch”, Richard, Raul “Blackie”, Celestino, Jerry, Linda, Gloria, Carmela, and others whose lives were cut short far too young. Theirs was a house of noise, laughter, hard work, and the unshakeable rhythm of family.
Jerry, born in March 1952, grew up surrounded by this energy. He studied auto body and fender work at Des Moines Tech, and though he would go on to make a career in a body shop, his first real “business deal” was paying off a car he wrecked – his father’s car. Every week, Crespin would show up at Jerry’s job to collect payment. One day, Jerry, half-joking, asked, “Dad, just how much do I owe you?” His father never gave him a straight answer – but the ritual of those visits was as much about connection as it was bout the debt.
Life Built on Love, Family and Valley Junction
Jerry’s life took a turn one night at a Mexican dance at the VFW in Ankeny. He was just 16, she was 17, Diana Garcia. Jerry had all the dance moves, but nerves got the better of him when he spilled his drink on her. “If you take your dress off, I’ll get it dry cleaned,” he blurted. It was a ridiculous timing, but they laughed about it for years. They married in 1968, two kids trying to make a life with more love than money. Diana had lived in Valley Junction with her parents, Augustine and Celia Garcia. The newlyweds lived in an apartment on the east side of Des Moines. But the Garcia’s wanted their daugther’s new family close. So, Jerry and Diana moved to her parents’ home in 1970 because they had a child and they didn’t have a lot of money.
They first lived across the railroad tracks in a two-bedroom home built by Augustine Garcia himself, next to his mother’s house. There was no running water, they carried it in from outside. By 1971, with their growing family – Tammy in 1968 and Jerry “Mijo” in 1971 – they moved into a two-bedroom, two-story house on 2nd Street. Jerry still lives there to this day. With a big heart and more love to give, the Galvan’s adopted their granddaughters, Victoria and Jasmine.
Diana worked hard, earning her GED, and eventually spending 29 years at Target. Jerry was a man of all trades! He worked in the body shop by trade, could fix or build about anything. They bonded with neighbors – Janet and Gordon Woolseym the Stelers – and Jerry spent time with the “10th Street boys”, Carl Lamar, Douglas May, Darrell Long, David Howelton, Tonta and David, and Alfred, while Diana found comfort in the company of her sister Lola.
Sundays were sacred. Nearly every week, they’d gather at the Garcia home for a feast – chicken, mashed potatoes, enchiladas, rice, beans, pork chops, chili, tortillas, and chicken mole. The air would be filled with laughter, teasing, and the smell of food that carried stories from one generation to the next. Actually, passed through the neighborhood like love letters, changing slightly with each cook’s touch, until one day they discovered their ‘special family recipe’ was actually borrowed from Alonzo “Blue Jay” Page’s BBQ joint. It didn’t matter. Once it was on the Galvan table, it was theirs.
The Galvan children grew up and started families of their own. Mijo and Samantha followed their parents’ path by having six children, blending families with two boys, Austin and Mason, and four daughters, Victoria, Jasmine, Jaelynn, and Thea. So far, they have given them three grandchildren. Jasmine has two girls, Luna and Diana. Austin has a daughter, Harper. Tammy and Mike Pingel have three children, Nicholas, Lindy and Tasha.
Life wasn’t always easy while Tammy and Mijo were growing up – there were tight budgets, hard work, and loss – but Jerry and Diana built a home where joy was made from togetherness, where meals were shared, and where love was steady. Even after Diana’s passing in 2014, the spirit remains, carried forward by their children, grandchildren, and the stories told around the table – stories that begin, always with Valley Junction.
