Alberto R. Rivero

Alberto Rolando Rivero, was born on April 8, 1925 to Fidel Rivero and Cross Dominguez. He had one brother Rene Rivero and one sister Cultifina Rivero (Both deceased). During the great depression, he and his father left his native Matanzas in search of work and ended up working on a road construction project in Camaguey as a heavy equipment operator. While working in Camaquey, Alberto met Aida Rosa Marti. Their courtship began in 1953 and was a long one. Aida Rosa Marti finally asked him in December of 1956 whether they were ever going to get married. They married on February 11, 1957 and they moved to Santiago de Cuba, Oriente in 1958 for work. Their first son Alberto (Al) was born in 1961 and was followed by Rene in 1965. Their time in Cuba after the revolution was extremely difficult as he became a political prisoner for opposing the revolution and was placed in a forced work camp. The family applied for Political Asylum in 1967 and on December 8, 1969 received notice of approval. Alberto left Cuba with the clothes on his back with his wife and two children on December 17, 1969. They arrived in Miami, Florida and stayed at a debriefing facility until January 3, 1970. He and the family moved to Los Angeles, California for a job opportunity at Merritt Aviation as a manufacturing technician. He worked at Merritt until October 15, 1971 when he was able to get a position as a Vessel Designer at Todd Pacific Shipyards. Alberto worked there until he retired in 1989. He and Aida moved to Texas in 1997. They moved to Katy, Texas in 2001. The neighborhood they moved to was recently developed and Alberto loved helping his neighbors as their homes were being built or to make improvements. He loved hearing a knock on the door to borrow a tool or to come look at a problem and figure out the solution. Those neighbors became his extended family. He was able to purchase a brand new 1959 Bellaire. Bought his first home in Lenox, California in December of 1970. It was a small duplex where he rented one unit and lived in the other; he ended up renting out the original duplex when he purchased his second duplex in 1975. He eventually purchased a new home in December of 1977, his dream home, had room to plan a garden, and build a workshop. Alberto used his workshop to start a business building residential security hardware, wrought iron fencing, trailer and anything people would pay for. He was able to provide his family a lifestyle that he talked about frequently which allowed his children to succeed and not be told what their place in society would be. He enjoyed helping family, friends, and neighbors with any project that needed his expertise and talent of building or repairing. He was especially proud of teaching his sons to stand on their own and to put forth their best effort at work and caring for their family. Alberto is survived by his wife Aida Rosa, son Alberto (Al) and wife Angela; son Rene and wife Monica. He leaves behind 7 grandchildren (Albert, Tim, Melissa, Justin, Christian, Bella, and Aranza) and 1 great grandchild (Ava).