Robin William’s ex-wife from Bohol

The second ex-wife of actor Robin Williams has roots coming from Bohol.

Marcha Garces Williams, is the daughter of Leon Pantaleon Garces, a native of Ubay town who migrated to the United States and married a Finnish Ameircan.  Garces, Wlliams’ Filipina-Finnish American ex-wife (one of 2 ex-wives), was married to Wlliams for 19 years.
Garces was born in San Francisco, USA 

According to a 2006 column by Janet Nepales in Filipino American weekly newspaperPhilippine News, Robin jokingly described his ex-wife (wife at the time) as “Finnipino.”

Garces met Williams when she was working as a nanny for Williams’ first child, Zachary, with Williams’ first wife Valerie Velardi. The couple married in 1989, after his divorce from Velardi, to whom he was married for 10 years. Garces and Williams had two kids together: Zelda Rae, who was born in 1989; and Cody, born in 1993. They separated in 2010.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Garces worked as Williams’ personal assistant before becoming a movie producer.

Garces is listed as producer in at least 4 of Williams’ movies including: Mrs Doubtfire,Patch Adams, Jakob the Liar and Robin Williams Live on Broadway. The couple was married for 19 years before Garces filed for divorce in 2008 and was granted in 2010. Garces cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the divorce. He married his third wife, Susan Schneider, in 2011 with whom he was living with in their Tiburon, California, home at the time of his death.
According to media reports, Williams’ two divorces cost a total of at least $20 million. He admitted in an interview with Parade magazine that he had to downsize his life following the costly divorce: “Well, not all [was lost]. Lost enough. Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it ‘all the money,’ but they changed it to ‘alimony.’ It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet. Are things good with my exes? Yes. But do I need that lifestyle? No.”

Williams openly talked about his struggles with alcohol abuse, which reportedly played a role in his divorce with Garces when he relapsed in 2006. Williams was also open about his struggle with cocaine abuse in the 1980s.

Their daughter Zelda, who is also an actress, reportedly named after the Nintendo gameThe Legend of Zelda, posted an emotional message to her father on Twitter.

Garces said she hopes people will remember Williams as “gentle, loving and generous.”
“My heart is split wide open and scattered over the planet with all of you. Please remember the gentle, loving, generous — and yes, brilliant and funny man that was Robin Williams. My arms are wrapped around our children as we attempt to grapple with celebrating the man we love, while dealing with this immeasurable loss,” she said.
Zelda, a 25-year-old actress, revealed that her last day with her father was on his birthday last July 21.

“My last day with him was his birthday, and I will be forever grateful that my brothers and I got to spend that time alone with him, sharing gifts and laughter. He was always warm, even in his darkest moments,” she said, in a post on her Tumblr page.

“While I’ll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there’s minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions. It doesn’t help the pain, but at least it’s a burden countless others now know we carry, and so many have offered to help lighten the load. Thank you for that.”
“To those he touched who are sending kind words, know that one of his favorite things in the world was to make you all laugh. As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car. Right after you’ve had it washed. After all, he loved to laugh too.”

“Dad was, is and always will be one of the kindest, most generous, gentlest souls I’ve ever known, and while there are few things I know for certain right now, one of them is that not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence. We’ll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again,” she said.

Williams’ youngest son Cody, 22, also issued a statement.

“There are no words strong enough to describe the love and respect I have for my father. The world will never be the same without him. I will miss him and take him with me everywhere I go for the rest of my life, and will look forward, forever, to the moment when I get to see him again,” Cody said.

Zak Williams, the actor’s son from his first marriage, also asked people to remember his father as gentle and kind.

“Yesterday, I lost my father and a best friend and the world got a little grayer. I will carry his heart with me every day. I would ask those that loved him to remember him by being as gentle, kind, and generous as he would be. Seek to bring joy to the world as he sought,” Zak said.

Williams, an Oscar-winning actor and comedian, was found dead by his personal assistant in his Northern California home on Monday. He was 63.

His last post on Instagram was a photo with his daughter Zelda on her birthday last July 31.
He wrote: “#tbt and Happy Birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl. Happy Birthday @zeldawilliams Love you!”