The State - News from Aug. 19, 1986

Mike Blackerby, 39, and Linda Garcia, 34, pledged to love each other in sickness and health until death parts them. Their marriage in Bakersfield was a traditional civil ceremony in a waiting room at Kern Medical Center where Garcia is being treated for cancer. She stood with intravenous tubes leading into her frail body, which has dropped from 100 pounds to 75 pounds since her pancreas was removed two months ago. She also wore a white dress and a garland of baby’s breath and carnation flowers. Doctors say she has only a few months to live. The couple smiled as they slipped rings on each other’s fingers, posed for pictures in their wedding finery, and accepted the congratulations of friends and hospital staff. They were married by Bobbie Papion, deputy county commissioner for weddings, who told the couple, “I hope that your wedding will be perfect and without end.”