ARCHIE A. BALDOCCHI

BALDOCCHI, ARCHIE A. 1913 - 2010 Archie Baldocchi long-time resident of Key Biscayne, passed away quietly on July 3rd after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was born on August 12, 1913 in San Francisco and attended the University of California. In 1940 he married María Elena Dueñas, daughter of a Salvadoran diplomat, in San Francisco, and had two children. In 1947 Archie and María Elena moved to El Salvador where they led an active life in the community. Archie raised cotton and cattle and was involved in a number of other businesses. A gifted engineer, he held several patents on improvements in agricultural machinery. Archie's life-long passion was a love of planes and flying. He obtained his first pilot's license at the age of seventeen and, until he moved back to the United States to Key Biscayne in 1978, he always owned one or more planes, several of them fighter planes, with P-51 Mustangs being his favorite. During World War II he flew the Pacific as a navigator for PanAm under contract to the US Navy. At this time he set his talents to developing a set of celestial navigation tables. During the three-day "Soccer War" between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, Archie was active behind the scenes in preparing and equipping the Salvadoran Air Force. Even in his seventies and back in the U.S., Archie did not desert the air. He explored a new aspect of flying by taking helicopter lessons. Two years after the death of his first wife in 1977, soon after he had moved to Key Biscayne, Archie met Hope Somoza, widow of Nicaraguan ex-president Anastasio Somoza. They married the following year, in 1980. Sadly, Hope died in 1991 leaving Archie a widower once more. However, he found happiness again with Canadian widow Brenda Dixon whom he married in 2001. Archie is survived by his widow Brenda, stepson Peter Dixon of Toronto, Canada, daughter Patricia Baldocchi of Key Biscayne, daughter-in-law María de los Angeles Kriete of El Salvador, brother Donald (Marilyn), nephew Donnie (Julie), and niece Raquel Reyes (Alex) of San Francisco, grandchildren Mauricio Borgonovo (Sandra) of Key Biscayne, María Elena Alvarez (Raul) and Marco Baldocchi (Lorna) of El Salvador, Sofía Iturbide (José) of Guatemala, and eleven great-grandchildren. His son, Archie, a prominent Salvadoran banker and politician, predeceased him. Archie will never be forgotten by his many friends and acquaintances. He was a brilliant man who never flaunted his many talents. He was beloved by all - a true gentleman who never had a bad word to say about anyone. He always had a smile on his face and could make a joke of things even in the face of his illness in later years. He will be sorely missed. Donations can be made to the charity of your choice. VAN ORSDEL - CORAL GABLES 4600 SW 8 St. (305) 446-4412 Family Owned Since 1924 www.VanOrsdel.com View this Guest Book at www. MiamiHerald.com/obituaries.