Alejandro "Alex" Angel Chavarriaga (Velasquez)

Alejandro “Alex” Angel Chavarriaga (Velasquez), 77

Alejandro “Alex” Angel Chavarriaga (Velasquez), 77, of North Lima died Friday morning with his wife at his side. Alex was born December 20, 1942 in Medellin, Colombia, a son of the late Luis Carlos and Laura Velasquez Chavarriaga. He attended military school in Colombia before moving to Manhattan, New York United States in July 1964.

He was a skilled trades Pipefitter for General Motors for 32 years. Alex worked at GM in Tarrytown, New York until the plant closed and then Lordstown, Ohio when he retired April 1, 2000.

An avid cyclist, he had won the U.S. National Cycling Championship and the Tour of Colombia (two years in a row) for his age category and many regional and local races.
Prior to his injury, Alex looked forward to an early retirement to enjoy racing with an Italian cycling team during the season and working for a sports camp in Mallorca, Spain in the off season.

Not only was Alex passionate about cycling, he enjoyed soccer, boxing, Texas hold’em, music and spending time with family. He was also a certified spinning instructor and personal trainer.

He leaves his wife, the former Marianne Dota (Earnest), whom he married May 2, 2001; two step-daughters, Jennifer (Jamie) Viano of North Lima,OH, Jaime (David) Hallett of San Diego, CA; his granddaughter, Ava and four grandsons, Ethan, Josiah, Nathan and Elijah; his siblings, Augusto Chavarriaga, Luis Carlos Chavarriaga, Fernando Chavarriaga, George Chavarriaga, Aleyda Gomez, John Chavarriaga, Miriam Gomez, Ivan Chavarriaga, Laura Chavarriaga, and Cristina Chavarriaga. He also leaves his brother-in-law, Gary J. Dota; many beloved aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Alex had a bigger than life personality and will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and Alex’s wishes, the family will have a private Christian service.

The family requests material tributes take the form of donations to:
The Spinal Cord Injury Project
604 Allison Road, D-251
Piscataway, NJ 08854
In Memory of Alex Chavarriaga
(Phone 848.445.6573)