AUDINI, ARMAND Age 95, long time resident of Albuquerque, died Wednesday, December 25, 2013. His spouse Enrica, his parents, all his brothers and sisters and a niece Michele preceded him in death. He is survived by a niece Janice Sluga, her husband Ev, her three sons Mark, Jim and Tony, all of Washington State; Michele's husband Steve D'Benedetto, his two daughters Jeannine and Laura, her husband Luis and their two daughters Melody and Luisa of Florida; a niece Nicki Schlapbuch and her husband Kenneth and their two children Maria and Brandon of Wisconsin; a daughter Katherine Shackles and her husband Edward, their four children William, Katherine, Constance, and Cynthia of Missouri; and several close friends who considered him family. "Mr. Audini" as he always introduced himself, was one of the many quiet heroes of WWII. He served his country with distinction in New Guinea, later traveling all over the world with The United States Air force. The Chief, as he was acknowledged every time he set foot on an Air Force facility, achieved the highest non-commissioned rank of CMSG and had a scrapbook full of commendations for his excellence and dedication. In the late 50s, he was stationed at the old Sandia Air Force Base in Albuquerque. This gave him a love of New Mexico and, after his 27 years of military service, he returned here with his wife Enrica after his Air Force Retirement. After painting his house for the third time in the first year of retirement, he realized that he was not a retiring kind of guy. So he applied to the VA and went on to become Maintenance Controller there until he retired again after 40 years of further service. It was said that Mr. Audini's fingerprints were on every inch of the VA and he always left things in better condition than he found them. Mr. Audini's Associate's Degree belies his genius. He began by picking up anything that looked interesting on his way home from grade school and taking it apart to find out how it worked. It can be said that there was very little on this planet that Mr. Audini didn't figure out how it worked and often how to make it work better. While most of us re-invent the wheel, Mr. Audini's life was about inventing (and then improving on) the wheel itself. Mr. Audini was a force. He was gruff and salty and crusty and tough as nails. It was exactly what you'd expect from an airman who survived WWII in New Guinea. He had little tolerance for stupidity and demanded excellence from everyone he worked withmost especially himself. But he also gave great loyalty and inspiration to those he worked with and the soldiers under his command and his associates at the VA learned from him and loved him in the process. He hid is kindheartedness from some people, but all of us family and friends who loved him and will miss him terribly knew what a special and unique treasure he was. In a paraphrased quote from Hamlet, "We will not soon his like again." On Friday, January 24, 2014 at 1:30 p.m., with full Military honors, Mr. Audini's ashes will be placed beside his beloved wife Ricci at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. A Celebration of his life is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2014 10:00 a.m. at FRENCH - Lomas. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, www.michaeljfox.org. Please visit the online guest book for Mr. Audini at www.FrenchFunerals.com FRENCH - Lomas 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE (505) 275-3500
AUDINI, ARMAND Age 95, long time resident of Albuquerque, died Wednesday, December 25, 2013. His spouse Enrica, his parents, all his brothers and sisters and a niece Michele preceded him in death. He is survived by a niece Janice Sluga, her husband Ev, her three sons Mark, Jim and Tony, all of Washington State; Michele's husband Steve D'Benedetto, his two daughters Jeannine and Laura, her husband Luis and their two daughters Melody and Luisa of Florida; a niece Nicki Schlapbuch and her husband Kenneth and their two children Maria and Brandon of Wisconsin; a daughter Katherine Shackles and her husband Edward, their four children William, Katherine, Constance, and Cynthia of Missouri; and several close friends who considered him family. "Mr. Audini" as he always introduced himself, was one of the many quiet heroes of WWII. He served his country with distinction in New Guinea, later traveling all over the world with The United States Air force. The Chief, as he was acknowledged every time he set foot on an Air Force facility, achieved the highest non-commissioned rank of CMSG and had a scrapbook full of commendations for his excellence and dedication. In the late 50s, he was stationed at the old Sandia Air Force Base in Albuquerque. This gave him a love of New Mexico and, after his 27 years of military service, he returned here with his wife Enrica after his Air Force Retirement. After painting his house for the third time in the first year of retirement, he realized that he was not a retiring kind of guy. So he applied to the VA and went on to become Maintenance Controller there until he retired again after 40 years of further service. It was said that Mr. Audini's fingerprints were on every inch of the VA and he always left things in better condition than he found them. Mr. Audini's Associate's Degree belies his genius. He began by picking up anything that looked interesting on his way home from grade school and taking it apart to find out how it worked. It can be said that there was very little on this planet that Mr. Audini didn't figure out how it worked and often how to make it work better. While most of us re-invent the wheel, Mr. Audini's life was about inventing (and then improving on) the wheel itself. Mr. Audini was a force. He was gruff and salty and crusty and tough as nails. It was exactly what you'd expect from an airman who survived WWII in New Guinea. He had little tolerance for stupidity and demanded excellence from everyone he worked withmost especially himself. But he also gave great loyalty and inspiration to those he worked with and the soldiers under his command and his associates at the VA learned from him and loved him in the process. He hid is kindheartedness from some people, but all of us family and friends who loved him and will miss him terribly knew what a special and unique treasure he was. In a paraphrased quote from Hamlet, "We will not soon his like again." On Friday, January 24, 2014 at 1:30 p.m., with full Military honors, Mr. Audini's ashes will be placed beside his beloved wife Ricci at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. A Celebration of his life is scheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2014 10:00 a.m. at FRENCH - Lomas. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, www.michaeljfox.org. Please visit the online guest book for Mr. Audini at www.FrenchFunerals.com FRENCH - Lomas 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE (505) 275-3500