June 3, 1941 - December 8, 2016
Marblehead- Albert R. Hosman, Jr. 75, of Marblehead, passed away in the company of his loving family, Thursday, December 8, 2016 at the Kaplan Family Hospice House, Danvers.
He was the husband of Joan M. (Herbst) Hosman of Marblehead.
Born in Beverly the son of the late Albert, Sr. and Josephine (Alberghini) Hosman, Albert was a graduate of Marblehead High School and perfected carpentry skills at Wentworth for two years. “Al” as everyone knew him, pursued a career in carpentry, building and repairing homes in Marblehead in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, and working at Salem Hospital, Ft. Devens, and the National Park Service, where he was certified in historic restoration and worked on the restoration and maintenance of historic structures at Minuteman National Park in Concord. Al topped off his career as a skilled carpenter working for the Andover Organ Company in Lawrence, MA where he constructed organ cases, foot pedals, decorative panels, and other organ parts. Well-known organs Al worked on include the organ in the choir loft at Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston. Al served in the Army National Guard and later the Seabees, completing 25 years of service. With the Seabees, Al worked at military sites including Guantanamo, Barbados, and Panama. Al loved the Seabees, and wore his Seabee caps (one stored in each car) proudly. He valued the service, the camaraderie, and the opportunity to perfect his skills cracking jokes.
Al was a quiet man who enjoyed life to the fullest. He hiked up many peaks in the White Mountains, summiting Mount Washington more than once and many “4000 footers”. His wife Joan accompanied him up the Ammonoosic Ravine Trail to the top of Mt. Washington in 2010. Despite the credit card she brought along in case she could persuade him to take the cog railway down, they hiked down the mountain too, his only concession being to follow a longer but less risky trail, the Jewell. Al played bass in the Boston Youth Symphony and saxophone in the band at Marblehead High School. He never lost his love for music and broadened his interests to include bluegrass and country in recent years. Al also looked for opportunities to help others throughout his life and volunteered at Kaplan Family Hospice House since 2008. He used his woodworking skills to lift the spirits of patients and families, crafting intricate crosses and Stars of David with his scroll saw to give them. His work was described in Scroll Saw Woodworking & Crafts 16, no. 3 (Fall, 2015) p. 72, and has inspired other woodworkers to use his designs to craft more to comfort people in need across the US.
Along with his wife, Joan, Albert is survived by a daughter, Christine Dube and her husband Bryant of Methuen, MA; a step-daughter, Michelle Krzyzanowski of Marblehead, MA; his granddaughter, Julia James Dube; his sister, Alice Evans and her husband Kendall of Marblehead, MA; his brothers Gerard Hosman of Newburyport, MA, and Robert Hosman and his wife Anne of Kittery Point, ME; and many nieces and nephews. Albert was predeceased by his first wife, Anne Marie Hosman and their son, James Hosman.
Visiting hours are Tuesday from 4-7pm in the Berube & Sons Funeral Home, 191 Lafayette St. Salem, MA. Relatives and friends are also invited to his funeral Mass in Star of the Sea Church, 80 Atlantic Ave. Marblehead, MA, Wednesday at 10 am. Burial will follow at Pine Grove Cemetery, Lynn. To send a condolence to the family please visit www.BerubeFuneralHome.com.
In lieu of flowers, Al’s family invites friends to contribute to Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923 or online: https://www.caredimensions.org/giving/ways-to-give/