Jorge Eduardo Villalba

Jorge E. Villalba, also known as ‘Ingeniero Villalba’ (Ing.Villalba), passed away on September 15, 2022. His departure closes a golden era of the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (HVACR) industry, having engineered and designed many landmark facilities. From large high-rise buildings, hospitals, campuses, resorts, food & beverage or petrochemical & process cooling facilities, Ing. Villalba exceeded every project without exception. Additional to his thermodynamics genius, and as an executive for York International of Borg-Wagner and later with Carrier United Technologies, he led corporations to record growth year after year earning him the respect he merited from countless professionals from multiple generations. Robert E. York former President of Carrier InterAmerica Corporation and close friend wrote on December 15th, 1988, “ He is a man of extremely high integrity who will put what is “right” for the employee, customer and shareholder above all else. Few can achieve such a level of results, while always acting with the highest standard of loyalty, integrity, and ethics. “ His final active years in the industry he contributed by mentoring and reviewing specifications holding a corner office for HVACR industry providing peace of mind for multi-millions dollar investments to perform with energy efficient systems. Jorge’s story begins in Barranquilla, Colombia born on February 11th, 1936 in a legacy of Colombian military ancestry. Excelling in professional soccer at an early age with Independiente Santa Fe, he opted to join the Colombian Navy and became enlightened of his engineering and thermodynamics abilities earning him an appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point with a signed letter by President Dwight Eisenhower. After his military service, Jorge began his HVACR career in Michigan and was eventually tapped to become General Manager for York International Mexico. From that point on he and his wife, Helena Jacqueline began an international corporate journey travelling the world and bringing up a family. With Jorge’s accelerate career and advancement, time demands grew, but he found time to enjoy sailing catamarans, golfing once in a while, traveling on family vacations, and bringing vibrant energy to every social event he attended - with his sense of humor, laughter, and twist dancing. He and his wife were a wonderful couple with Jorge’s world views & continual research, and Helena’s historical academia. Jorge is survived by his wife Helena Jacqueline, four children, many grandchildren & greatgrandchildren, and a wealth of numerous family members who reside in the San Diego area, the US and several countries.