He was born at home (due to the legendary flu epidemic) on October 31, 1918 in the small village of LaSalle, New York, which would eventually become part of the city of Niagara Falls. John was the first of two sons born to Marion Landreth Albert and Victor Andrew Albert. His younger brother, 2nd Lt. Richard Andrew Albert, died at age 22 in a plane crash over England during World War II.
Following his childhood in Niagara Falls, John attended Middlebury College in Vermont and eventually graduated with a degree in art from Pratt Institute in New York. There was a break in his education during the war while he served his country servicing the radar equipment on B-29 bombers; he also had the honor of escorting returning soldiers home from the war on a liberty ship.
It was while attending Pratt that he met the love of his life over breakfast one Sunday morning in a drugstore in Brooklyn. Denise Elisabeth Sutter (Betty) was a young Swiss woman who had recently graduated from Smith College and moved to New York to work and live with her sister, Andrée Sutter, one of John’s classmates. He was “instantly smitten and she was co-smitten” and they married on September 14, 1947. Betty was the light of his life and his devotion to her was an inspiration to all who knew them.
After the birth of their first child, Richard Sutter (’48), the young family moved to Philadelphia and two daughters, Susan Denise (’50) and Linda Jennifer (’53), soon followed. John went to work for Philco, designing radio and television cabinets until a job offer with Revere as a product designer led them to Rome, New York where another daughter, Christine Elisabeth (’55), joined the clan.
Rome was home for the next fifty years. He and Betty bought an old farmhouse in the country and spent four decades nurturing it, giving their children the gift of growing up with plenty of room to roam. He loved crossword puzzles (which he continued to do until the last weeks of his life), music, sports of all kinds and especially golf (both as a player since his teens, and to watch on TV). John was naturally curious, with a dictionary and encyclopedias always close at hand. His love of words also manifested in a sharp sense of humor that usually came in the form of a pun. Many hours were spent on the Albert porch, volleying puns and talking politics with friends and family.
John retired from Revere in 1981, Betty retired from teaching and they did some long overdue traveling – a “second honeymoon” to Hawaii, visiting Betty’s mother in Paris, family in Switzerland and stopping along the way in London, Florence, Venice and more. Mostly they enjoyed each other’s company, shared in their children’s lives, and spent time with their beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
They moved to Florida in 2003 and lived around the corner from their son Rick and daughter-in-law Terri for the next seven years. In 2010 they moved in with daughter Susan and her husband, Carl. They have found great comfort in being close to their children in Florida.
John Albert lives on in his children – in their humor, music, art, love of words, and mostly in the example that he gave them of how to be a loving partner. His spirit stays with us in the light of his Betty’s blue eyes.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Albert (Jensen Beach, FL); son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Terri Albert (St. Petersburg, FL); daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Carl Eilenberg (Jensen Beach, FL); daughter and son-in-law, Linda Madin and Tom Olney (Golden, CO); daughter and son-in-law, Christine and Chris Gage (Austin, TX); daughter-of-the-heart, Carole Eilenberg (Jensen Beach, FL); grandchildren, Memphis, Carly, Jason, Amy, Chris, Laura, Lizzie, Abby, Troupe, Sam and Casey, their loving spouses and sixteen darling great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Marion Albert; his brother, Richard A. Albert; his father and mother-in-law, Edward and Lily Sutter; his sister-in-law, Andrée Sutter; his son-in-law, Everett (Skip) H. Madin, Jr.; and his great-grandson, Everett Wyeth Madin.
Contribution may be made to Treasure Coast Hospice, 1201 SE Indian Street, Stuart, FL 34957.
Service will be on Friday, September 2, 2011 at 2:00PM at Aycock Funeral Home, Jensen Beach, FL.
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