Gabriel Andrew Pall

Gabriel A. Pall passed away on January 18, 2021 in Williamsburg, VA after living with Parkinson’s for many years. He was born in Budapest, Hungary on October 6, 1932. The son of Dr. Gábor Páll and Andrea Kauser, he is survived by his wife of 36 years, Christine Rose of Williamsburg, their daughter, Laura Rose Pall (Christopher Butler) of Newport News, and his sister, Edina Thiry (Alexander) of Lima, Ohio. His early years were spent in Hungary and what is now Romania, but after the post-WWII Soviet occupation of Hungary and the failed Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he was forced to flee Hungary, escaping to Austria with little more than the clothes on his back. He received multiple degrees over the course of his life: a BS in Structural Engineering from the Technical University of Budapest, a Civil Engineering degree from the Polytechnic University of Vienna, and after emigrating to the USA, an MS in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania. His career in America started as a Civil Engineer designing bridges in Philadelphia before he joined IBM in 1960. His career at IBM spanned 29 years and included assignments in Vienna and Paris. He held various positions as an IBM executive, including Director of IBM’s Quality Institute. After retiring from IBM in 1989, he joined the Juran Institute, a consulting firm in quality management as a Sr. Vice President managing their international business. While there, he carried out a large number of consulting assignments on quality management with industrial and business clients throughout the world. He is the author of three technical books and was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as well as the American Society for Quality (ASQ). After moving to Williamsburg in 2000 and retiring from the Juran Institute, he became an Executive Partner at the College of William and Mary and worked for the college’s Business School. He was a life-long student of history, an avid tennis player, bridge player, and spoke six languages, including Hungarian, German, French, Italian & Spanish. His intellect and charm will be missed by all who knew him and his family thanks all their family and many friends for their support and kindness. A private cremation will be held for family and a memorial celebration will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in his name to the Parkinson’s Foundation, 200 SE 1st Street, Suite 800, Miami, FL 33131, (www.parkinson.org).