Albert "Al" Francis Maurich
June 24, 1920 - August 29, 2013
Obituary
Al Maurich was born on June 24, 1920 in Enumclaw, Washington to Frank and Jenny Maurich who had immigrated to the United States from Nova Stifta, Slovenia. Al died at his Wesley Gardens home in Des Moines, Washington on August 29, 2013 at the age of 93. He gracefully endured multiple myeloma cancer for the past five years.
As a member of the Class of 1938, Al graduated from Enumclaw High School. At nineteen, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps at Camp Waskowitz near North Bend. During World War II, Al enlisted in the US Army, serving our country in the Alaska Aleutian Theater. He was a proud veteran and an active member of American Legion Post 15, Kent, Washington. Al was past commander of the post and District 11, and a member of Voiture 75 of 40 & 8.
Al graduated from Seattle University and was one of the first men to earn a Bachelor of Food Science degree. During his post-graduate internship at the University of Washington he fell in love with a cute red-head named Mary “Jane” Curry.
Al and Jane married on July, 14, 1951 in Moscow, Idaho where Jane was working at the University of Idaho. They lived in Enumclaw for a year, and then moved to Moscow, Idaho where Al worked as a Food Service Manager at the University of Idaho. While in Idaho, daughters Chris and Marian were born. They lived in Kent, Washington when Kathy was born, then the family moved to SeaTac, Washington where Nancy and Steve were born. Al and Jane lived in SeaTac for 51 years before moving to Des Moines in 2007. While in SeaTac, Al and Jane were active at St. Thomas Parish in Tukwila and St. Philomena Parish in Des Moines.
Most of his career Al worked as a Food Service Manager at the University of Washington, where he retired in 1981. Al embraced volunteering in retirement. For over 20 years he volunteered many hours assisting veterans at Seattle’s VA Hospital. He and Jane drove around the state for the local chapter of the National Civilian Conservation Corps installing plaques recognizing the work of the CCC guys.
Al started playing golf in high school, played on the Seattle U team, took a break when raising his family, picked it up again in retirement, and continued to play well into his 80s. Al enjoyed watching sports on TV, particularly hockey and football. For twenty-five years he had season tickets to the UW Husky football games. He always arrived early and would often invite his children and grandchildren to go with him.
Trains were always an important part of Al’s life. He enjoyed everything about trains – watching trains, waiting for trains, talking about trains, reading about trains, and building models. Seems like every drive he took included a train detour. Al attended many model railroading club meetings in Seattle and Edmonds. He shared is love of trains with others by volunteering at local and national shows. His interest in trains spread to his son Steve, his nephew Wally, and to Wally’s son Eric.
Al was married to his “testada” for 62 years. He is Dad to Chris Maurich (Gregor Harrison), Marian (Bill) Joslin, Kathy (Gailen) Steichen, Nancy (Robert) Benoit, Steve Maurich (Sophie Wu); Grandpa to Matthew, Heather, Michael, Patrick, Peter, Parker, Lorah and Lane; and “Unkie” to Wally and Gloria. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister Jane Young.
Funeral mass on Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 11:00 a.m. at St. Philomena Catholic Church, Des Moines. Reception and graveside services to follow. In lieu of flowers, please give to the charity of your choice.
so sorry for your loss
I love you dad. I’m sure you will make the angels laugh with your puns and jokes!
You will always be my free cell mentor. My 100,000th win is for you.
So sorry for your loss. Thinking of you and your family today Christine.
AL WILL BE IN OUR PRAYERS.
Condolences to the Maurich family. Please be assured that one day we will see our loved ones again happy and healthy. Jesus promised at John 5:28 & 29 that “all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” I pray this promise along with loving memories fill your heart with comfort and peace.
We will miss Uncle Al! He lived such a great life enjoying his family and helping people in so many different ways.
We are blessed to have had him in our lives. Our prayers are with you all as you mourn his passing.
Love from,
Mary, Dennis, Victoria, Dennis Jr, and Arden
We want to extend our deepest sympathy to Uncle Al’s family.
We are so sorry that he is no longer with us. We miss him, his smile and his jokes.
He also loved to help others and remember what they did.
We cherish the last 3 times we saw him in the past 5 years.
Love to all his family,
Joe and Sandy Tweed