Alfonso Soto Escobosa

Alfonso (Al) Soto Escobosa was born February 22, 1928 in Los Angeles, CA. His family moved to Orange, CA where he attended elementary school. Later, his family moved to Long Beach, where he attended and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, where he ran track and played football on the school teams. Al enlisted in the Navy and was ultimately assigned to engineering duties in his service. He then went on to earn his bachelors degree in electrical engineering from UCLA and was hired by Autonetics, which later became Rockwell International Corporation (now part of Boeing) and worked there until his retirement in 1990. Mid-career, he earned his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Fullerton. In 1959, at a youth Christian Church Conference he met his wife, Betty Archuleta and they married in July 23, 1960. In January 1964 their first child, Marcus, was born and was followed by their daughter, Marcia, in September 1966. Al and Betty joined the Placentia Presbyterian Church in 1965 , which has been a rock of support throughout their lives and their children as well. Al was a regular participant in the men’s bible study, taught by Bob Watkins...[more]

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Al’s love for creative engineering didn’t stop with his retirement. He continued engineering and designing a repertoire of personal projects and received United States Patents in areas of automotive engineering and actuation systems, including the following patents: Servo-Automated Transmission Patent number: 9239095 Date of Patent: January 19, 2016 Variable Actuation of Engine Valves Patent number: 6026771 Date of Patent: February 22, 2000 Digital Variable Actuation System Patent number: 5737994 Date of Patent: April 14, 1998 All-Digital Electrically Powered Servo Patent number: 4590764 Date of Patent: May 27, 1986 Hydraulic Controlled Sonic Induction System Patent number: 4296911 Date of Patent: October 27, 1981 Hydraulic Actuation System for Engine Valves Patent number: 4244553 Date of Patent: January 13, 1981 Recently, he was in the process of completing the figure drawings relative to his current invention, which would be claimed in a U.S. Patent application entitled “2-Stroke Stratified Charge Engine”. His most recently launched inventions include a vehicle design titled ‘Fuel Efficient Commuter’ and a suspension design titled ‘Individual-Wheel Vehicle Suspension. His major hobby was his engineering work, which he continued to engage in daily until just weeks before his passing. As Al excelled with a genius mind, he was equally devoted to his physical health with his activities in track and field, which he continued to do well into his late 80s. The pinnacle of his success occurred in 1999 in Gateshead, England where he and his US teammates took first place in the World Veterans Athletics Championships to win the gold medal in the 4x400 Relay. Al participated in two running clubs, the Southern California Striders and the 6:42 Running Club. Al won many medals throughout his running career, in regional, national and international events. Though he would eventually scale back on his running, he continued to work out at the local Crunch gym at 5:30 every morning. For those who knew Al, his love and devotion to his family was clearly evident. We are all so proud of him, not only in his achievements, but in his qualities as a loving and godly man, husband and father. He is also survived by his extended family, which includes: daughter-in-law Lori Escobosa, grandkids Ryan and Megan Dix (Escobosa), half-sister Belinda Escobosa and niece Dina Aguilar. Al passed away peacefully on September 20, 2023 from stage 4 bladder cancer, with his family by his side.