Emil E. Komarek

Age 95, passed away peacefully on December 17, 2014. Born in Chicago, IL on October 22, 1919, he was the son of immigrants from Czechoslovakia. Mr. Komarek was a World War II veteran, serving in the U.S. Army from 1941-1945 in the Asian Pacific Theatre, specifically in the New Guinea and Papuan campaigns. He achieved the rank of Staff Sargent during his service and was a member of the American Legion. Mr. Komarek's career interests focused on radio and television electronics engineering. The R.C.A. Institutes, Inc. (Chicago) awarded him a certificate for completing subjects in the "Commercial Radio Operating with Code and Radio Laws" in 1941; and he received a diploma from American Television for the theoretical and practical course of instruction in television engineering in 1948. Mr. Komarek was an electronics engineer at Sandia National Laboratories from 1952-1983, participating in the amazing technological advances in micro-technologies during those years. Emil was an avid amateur "ham" radio enthusiast (call letters W5OQR), obtaining his first license in 1939. In later years he held an Advanced Class license. He was a member of several radio clubs, including the Quarter Century Wireless Association, the Amateur Radio Caravan Club, and the Upper Rio FM Society. After retiring in 1983, Mr. Komarek and his wife, Mildred, traveled around the world and especially loved the cruises. Other activities that occupied his time were gardening, attending the Albuquerque Dukes and the Isotopes baseball games (he was a fan of the Chicago Cubs), playing Scrabble, and fishing at many of New Mexico's lakes. Mr. Komarek was preceded in death by his wife, Mildred and brother, Frank. He is survived by his daughters, Amelia Budge (Thomas) and Susan Komarek (Kevin); his son, Wayne Komarek (Linda), and brother, Ernest Komarek (Lillian), as well as many nieces and nephews and close friends. Mr. Komarek was a loving father and will be missed by all who knew him. Services to celebrate Mr. Komarek's life will be held Tuesday, December 30, 2014, 10:00 a.m. at FRENCH - Lomas followed by a brief military service at the Santa Fe National Cemetery at 1:30 p.m. Mr. Komarek will be interred next to his wife.