Marco E. Riera, 57 of Medway died August 1 at his home following a yearlong battle with cancer. He was the husband of Janet (Wood) Riera for the past 35 years.
Born in Havana, Cuba, May 7, 1953 the son of the late Pelayo and Vera (Argument) Riera, Mr. Riera and his family escaped from communist Cuba under the pretext of visiting maternal grandparents in Canada and subsequently settled in the United States. When Marco’s father accepted a job in France, he lived in Boudreaux for three years before returning to the United States for high school.
He graduated from Riverside Military Academy as Valedictorian.
He went on to earn a B.S. and a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University and was a member of the engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi.
After graduation, Marco worked for Hewlett –Packard in their medical electronics division, and was a member of the team that developed the first portable ECG machine.
After a four year stint at Stellar Computer, Marco joined Sun Microsystems (now Oracle), where he worked for 21 years and rose to the position of Director, Hardware Systems.
After his family, Marco’s passion was sports, and he was actively involved as a coach or assistant coach for many of his son and daughter’s early soccer, basketball, baseball and softball teams.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Katie Riera and Cam Reira both of Medway.
He is also survived by his brother, Robert Fogle of Charlotte, NC and Pelayo Riera of Jacksonville, Fla. and his sisters, Cristina Riera of Bonn, Germany and Diana Riera of Kona, HA, as well as numerous in-laws and nieces and nephews.
Family and friends will honor and celebrate Marco’s life by gathering for calling hours in the Ginley-Crowley Funeral Home, 3 Barber St. in Medway on Wednesday from 5-8 p.m.
A memorial funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in St. Joseph Church in Medway.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in his memory to the American Cancer Society, 30 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701.