Alberto Garcia Diez

Alberto Garcia Diez was born on September 20, 1971 in Pontiac Michigan to Pedro Garcia Barreno and Maria Manuela (Nela) Diez Lorenzo. He celebrated his birthday with his beloved twin brother and best friend Ricardo and with their mother Nela. Alberto and his family returned to Spain in 1972 where Alberto attended El Colegio Decroly in Madrid. He was active in sports, earning a spot on the Madrid basketball team, was a runner and loved rock climbing in the Pyrenees and El Yelmo en la Pedriza with his rock climbing club, Peñalada. He built strong friendships that lasted throughout his life despite being continents apart. Raul, Alberto, and Olga were all at the top of the list to visit whenever home in Madrid. He returned to the United States in 1990 to attend Western Michigan University to study English and then Applied Physics and would end up meeting his future wife, Amy, in the fall of 1993. They dated for 9 years before getting married August 30, 2002 in Burgos, Spain and they recently celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. Although Alberto had a mind for science, his passion was working with people as was evident in his business endeavors in real estate, tax management and most recently residential safety inspections. Everyone loved to work with Alberto, with his high energy, magnetic personality and million dollar smile. Alberto never met a stranger and would give you the shirt off his back. He took every opportunity to engage with those often overlooked by the rest of society. He loved being the fun uncle and was always the life of the party. From his deep-fried turkeys on Thanksgiving to his New Year’s pig on the caja china, he always looked for ways to entertain. Alberto loved sports, You could be sure a game was happening if you simply passed by the house as you would hear his impassioned cheering of his favorite team. He loved the Falcons and Atlanta United, but there was seldom a time he would miss either the qualifying or the race for Formula One. He was an avid soccer fan and spent many summers in Michigan watching the World Cup with his in-laws who were always enamored with the passion he had for the game. And man, did Alberto love the beach! His early summer vacations were spent with his family in Le Estartit, outside Barcelona and he continued this tradition through his daughter’s early years. They also spent many summers on the shores of Lake Michigan with Amy’s family. If you could not find Alberto, all you had to do was go down to the beach where you would find him flying a kite if the wind was just right or taking a siesta right there in the sand. More than anything, Alberto loved his family both in the US and in Spain. He leaves behind his two precious daughters, Nadia and Maya and his wife, Amy Veurink. He loved his girls more than anything and was so very proud of them and looking forward to their futures. If he was not in person watching them play volleyball, he was watching it online supporting them from afar. He loved to go on vacation with his family with recent trips to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and the family favorite, Jamaica. He also is survived by his parents, Pedro Garcia Barreno and MariaManuela Diez Lorenzo, his twin brother Ricardo, his younger sister Marta, his Aunt Blanca, his Uncle Juan (Amparo), cousins Irene, Gustavo and Raul, father and mother in law, Gary and Sally Veurink, brothers in law Jon (Terri) and Steve (Shannon) Veurink, sister in law Julie (Kim) Loncar, and his nieces and nephews whom he adored; Ivan, Kelsey, Kenzie, Alex, Delaney, Siena and Tessa. A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 11:30am at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church; 230 Arnold St. Hapeville, GA 30354.

Alberto Garcia Diez

September 20, 1971 - October 8, 2022