Joseph Magiera, 68, owner and chief executive officer of MTL Products Corp., died Monday of a brain tumor at his Libertyville home.
Mr. Magiera was also president of Dreefs Switch Inc. in Waukegan from 1979 to 1997. He immigrated to the United States from Germany in his late teens and then served four years as a medic in the armed forces during the Korean War.
After the war, he graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in mechanical engineering.
“He had an incredible ability with machines,” said his oldest son, Ed. “Any machine he ever touched never gave him problems. It was like the machine knew that someone who loved machines was working on it. He was an excellent engineer.”
He worked for Univac and General Electric before being recruited by Waukegan’s Cherry Products Corp. to start a subsidiary company in Germany called Cherry Mikroschalter Gmhb, where he served as general manager for five years.
Mr. Magiera held several patents on electromechanical switch devices, which drew industry-wide praise. “Anyone in electronics would know Joe Magiera, ” Ed Magiera said.
Mr. Magiera was a former member of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.
As an active member of the Junior Alpine Racing Team with the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Association, Mr. Magiera showed his children that working hard meant playing hard as well. One of his sons, Rob, was a ski racer before he opened his own computer design firm in Salt Lake City.
Mr. Magiera was also a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association.
“His time with us was wonderful,” said Christine Magiera, his wife of 49 years. “He is a man not easily forgotten.”
Other survivors include his son, Steve, and two granddaughters.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Aug. 19 in St. Joseph Church, 121 E. Maple Ave., Libertyville.
