Mr. Alberto V. Duque

On November 21, 1949, Alberto de la Vega Duque was born in the small town of San Nicolas in the province of Alcala, Pangasinan, on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The fourth of ten siblings, he was known as "Boy Padi" ("padi" being a term for "Father") to many of his family and friends for spending almost ten years preparing for the priesthood. He entered seminary life in his high school years, but had a change in his call when he met his future wife Rosemary. Alberto then enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest existing university in Asia, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering. He followed Rosemary to Philadelphia where she began her career in nursing and a year later; they married in 1972. As an immigrant in the 1970s, he struggled to gain employment as an electrician in the city. Instead, an Allentown-based telecommunications company known as GST Corporation brought Alberto on where he put his knowledge and skills to work with clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic tri-state region. He continued to work in the field through its transition into Ft. Washington-based Acteon Networks in early the 2000s. He retired in 2016 to spend more time with his wife. A deeply religious person, Alberto was very active in prayer and service to his faith. He was an Extraordinary Minister in his home parish, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Cheltenham and would volunteer to do whatever was needed to be done to help make the Parish's annual "International Buffet" a success. He also loved expressing his faith singing loudly and with conviction during Mass (although he also enjoyed singing at home or with friends). Along with his older son, Alan, he was a member of the Men of Malvern, Nativity B.V.M. Group. Alberto was known as a humble man who was popular among his various circles of friends and colleagues. Some knew him as "Boy" while others called him "Bert" and others; simply "Al." Each set of people knew various aspects of him and yet, would all say that he was the "easygoing guy who brightened the room with his infectious smile" and "the one who always made you laugh." At home, Alberto was known as a quiet man who loved his wife and children. He was a man of routine, but also of creativity and exploration. He enjoyed capturing moments with an SLR (and later a DSLR) camera and was never without one while pursuing another love of his - traveling with family and friends. While he has traveled to numerous cities in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Israel-Palestine, and Europe; one of his most memorable trips was to take his family on a Mediterranean cruise shortly after his youngest son, Randy, graduated from US Army Infantry School. When he wasn't traveling and taking photos, Alberto enjoyed the simple pleasures in life, namely watching his favorite sitcoms and westerns; and food. He liked to try new recipes and regularly experimented with ingredients. He also loved to eat and always found a reason to snack on something. Not only did Alberto like to explore the world through travel, photography, and the palate; he was also a man who stressed self-reliance and determination in everyday life. From pulling over and crawling under the car to fix a broken brake cable so he could get home safely to completely replacing the fuse box of his home with a circuit breaker panel; Alberto was rarely stumped in solving mechanical problems. As clear as it is that Alberto was mechanically inclined, he also excelled at sports. He was an avid tennis player and learned to play ambidextrously after recovering from an injury to his right arm. Later, he moved from tennis to golf where he competed in a few local tournaments until he was diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer in 2017. For the next three years, he would fight this battle until taking his final breath on December 21, 2020. Alberto is survived by his wife Rosemary and his children; Alan and Randy. In lieu of flowers, Alberto asked that people wishing to express their sympathy may donate to Fox Chase Cancer Center as he and the family truly appreciated the care, support, and personal service received the past few years. Donations can be made here: https://www.foxchase.org/giving/ways-give/donate-now For those wishing to attend the funeral service virtually, they may watch the livestream on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at 10:00am EST on the St. Joseph Church, Cheltenham website (https://stjoescheltenham.org) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/stjoescheltenham/).