Obituary of Albert Quiroga

Albert Quiroga, 84 avionics mechanic and inventor After two years of declining health, Albert Quiroga passed away in his sleep Jan. 6. He will be remembered for his can-do spirit and perseverance, says his wife, Irma. He could fix anything. Anything you asked him to fix, he would say, I will try,’ says Irma, who married Albert in their native country of Bolivia nearly 60 years ago. And while Albert’ s determination and mechanical prowess paid off in repaired cars, re-glued dining chairs and mended toys for grateful family members of all ages, it also resulted in important safety advances over the 45 years he worked as an electronic aviation mechanic. Albert attended the Aviation Mechanic Apprentice School in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and then went to work for Lloyd Aereo Boliviano Airlines. In early 1941, he traveled to the United States under the Inter-American Aviation Training Program to further his education at the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics in Newark, N.J. He returned to Bolivia in 1943, where he worked for the Bolivian Air Force and, later, the private sector. In 1953, Albert emigrated to the United States to pursue better opportunity for his family. He worked most of his career as an avionics mechanic for National Distillers & Chemical Corp, where he invented many devices that helped keep small Gulfstream planes safe. Two inventions - including a unit that performed a check of the propeller’ s de-icer unit while combining three vital tests into one -- won Albert Federal Aviation Administration Mechanic of the Year awards for the state of New Jersey. He shared his findings with all Gulfstream operators, and a system based on one of his inventions became a standard feature in the planes. He gives freely of his time to convey to others a small part of his immense knowledge & not for renumeration but for the help they might provide to one of his brothers’ in aviation, said the letter nominating Albert to be the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association’ s Man of the Year in 1986. Albert accepted the award in Houston shortly before he retired. When he first came to the United States, Albert lived alone at the Passaic-Clifton YMCA in N.J. until his wife and (then) three children joined him in a small apartment above an Italian bakery. Daughter Elvira says Albert’ s decision to leave a large and tight-knit family in Bolivia to create a better life for his children showed great courage. He was not one to give unsolicited advice or push his opinions; instead, he exemplified his values through hard work and honoring his responsibilities. Over the years, Albert's little family of five grew to include distant cousins and, later, his children’ s spouses and their children. Although Albert started his life as a U.S. citizen alone, he ended life with a large circle of loving friends and family - a testament to his good humor and family values. Daughter Maria says Albert was special in that you could actually see a twinkle in his eye. He was a wonderful ballroom dancer, dapper dresser, skilled woodworker and constant joker (or chistoso). When he lost half a finger in a woodworking accident, he never felt sorry for himself. From that point forward, he’ d simply raise his palm and laughingly ask people to give him four and a half instead of giving him five -- and went to do his most intricate woodwork. Albert leaves his wife, Irma; daughter Elvira Johnson and her husband, Richard Johnson; daughter Maria Quiroga and her husband, Alvin Shiggs; son, John Quiroga; daughter Irma Field and her husband, Gregory Field; and six grandchildren, Nathan and Matthew Johnson, Nicholas and Sara Shiggs-Quiroga, and Taylor and Rachel Field. He is survived by his brother Oscar Quiroga of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and sisters Dora Galleguillos and Raquel Peter, both of Cochabamba, Bolivia. A wake will be held on Wednesday from 3:00 until 7:00 pm at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 12 Chestnut St., Peabody. A Funeral Mass will be held at 12:00 PM noon on Wednesday,Jan. 11 at Brooksby Village Chapel, 100 Brooksby Village Dr., Peabody. The burial will take place on Jan. 12 at 10:00 am at Riverside Cemetery in North Reading. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Hospice of the North Shore, 10 Elm St., Danvers, MA 01923 or to the Administration, C/O Brooksby Village’ s Staff Appreciation Fund or Benevolent Care Fund, 100 Brooksby Village Dr., Peabody, MA 01960.