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Engineer Michael Smerechniak died August 19, at 94.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering at New York University, and parlayed his education into a career building aircraft such as the still-in service A-10 Warthog, B-1 Lancer and the Space Shuttle.
He was the father of Elena Kayak.
He met his future wife, Marie Jo Miera, through her cousin, Eduardo E. Gallegos, and married at the UNM Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. They raised a family in Queens, New York.
He was an avid stock market investor and recommended Apple stock to anyone he met. His mantra was “The more I give, the more I receive.†His most recent donation was made with his wife, to contribute to feed the Corrales vaccination pod workers as they helped stop the spread of COVID.
His hearty, appreciative laugh and sense of humor will be missed by everyone, including friends at the Meadowlark Senior Center who enjoyed his sharing the “Word-of-the-Day†calendar at lunchtime.