Albert H. Mahrer MBA ’65 of Grand Junction, Colorado passed away peacefully on Sunday evening, July 22, 2012 of natural causes while in the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Grand Junction. He was 85. He was a WWII Veteran.
Immediately following graduation from Lisbon High School he enlisted in the U.S. Army, having served as an SP in the Army’s Special Police Unit in northern Italy where he met and married Brunine Piatti-Mahrer. Upon completion of his tour and honorable discharge, he returned to his home of Lisbon and entered North Dakota State University (NDSU) at Fargo under the GI Bill, and combined with the NDSU ROTC program, graduated with a ME degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the USAF and served at Edwards AFB (about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles and home of the Air Force Flight Test Center) until rising to the rank of Captain and later his honorable discharge.
He later earned an MBA degree at Santa Clara University and a PHD in Industrial Management at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC). During his civilian career he served as a jet engine expert and consultant for Lockheed, General Electric, United Technologies, and Pratt and Whitney, major providers of jet engines and aerospace products for commercial and military aircraft. Following his career at E-Systems at Greenville (TX) as a proposal manager, he returned to UNC to teach management information systems until his final retirement. He was a member of the VFW Post of Grand Junction, Colorado and of the Knights of Columbus San Jose Council 879 at San Jose, Calif.
He is survived by one brother Lee Mahrer of Phoenix, Ariz; three sisters, Lorraine Holmstrom, Helen Tangen, and Eileen Munkeby, all of Lisbon; six children, Dr. Bobb Mahrer of Greenville, Texas, Bill Mahrer, Austin, Texas, Maria Mahrer-Lollar of Spring, Texas, Jerry Mahrer of Farmersville, Texas, James Mahrer of Palm City, FL and Sheryl Mahrer-offey of Grand Junction, CO; and 13 grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Marie Mahrer of Lisbon, three sisters, Margaret Hahn, Bernice Osman, and Louise Claus, and his wife, Brunine Mahrer.