Obituary: Secoquian

Ivan Gabat Secoquian, 61, of Fairbury, died unexpectedly of natural causes on Sunday, March 24, 2024, at his home.

His funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am Friday, April 5, 2024 at St. Andrew Catholic Parish with Fr. Scott Archer officiating.  Burial will be in South Graceland Cemetery, Fairbury.

All are invited to attend the recitation of the holy rosary followed by a family eulogy at 4:30 pm on Thursday, April 4, 2024 at Duffy-Pils Memorial Home, Fairbury.  If you choose to only attend the visitation, the public is also welcome between 5:30 and 8:00 pm at the memorial home.  Memorials can be given to The Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation (www.mc-lef.org), 273 Columbus Avenue, Suite 10, Tuckahoe, NY 10707 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

He was born on December 10, 1962, in Quezon City, Philippines, to Drs. Cesar Movida Secoquian and Belen Gabat Secoquian. His mother preceded him in death.  

Ivan is survived by his father; two sisters, Tanya (Reginald) Williams, Tracy, CA, and Natasha (Daniel) Lauer, Chicago; his significant other, Kim Meadows, Los Angeles; and one nephew and two nieces, Jordan Williams, Newark, CA, Andrea Williams, Tracy, CA, and Samantha Williams, Sacramento, CA.

A 1981 graduate of Fairbury-Cropsey High School, Ivan received his bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in 1987, majoring in Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies. Soon after, he moved to California where he co-founded Open Source Storage, LLC in 2001, a 2-person home-based Windows and Linux custom computer and server manufacturer. In 2003, he incorporated the company and grew it from humble beginnings to $25,000,000 in sales by 2005, deploying over 2000 servers with custom metalwork to reduce heat.

He received his Associate of Arts and Sciences degree in Electronics from Heald Institute of Technology in 1993.

He furthered his education in Building Construction Technology and Construction Management, completing courses in 2011. He used these skills to help others, volunteering as a laborer to restore homes, churches and schools during his time in California. Ivan also regularly volunteered to feed the hungry at local food banks and delivering Meals on Wheels.

He enjoyed cooking and inventing new recipes and methods, sharing his culinary skills through his two vlogs - Frugal Spoon and Frugal Range. His other hobbies included: golfing, traveling, and most recently, raising endangered snapping turtles to be reintroduced into the wild.

After moving back to Fairbury in 2021, Ivan began working at Caterpillar, Inc. in Pontiac, Illinois, as an L4 (highest level) Mill, Drill & Bore machine specialist. It was the perfect fit for Ivan’s combination of strong work ethic and attention to detail. He was recognized by Cat as a good employee who was always very enthusiastic about his work. In his work at Cat, Ivan created fuel injectors for enormous engines that power everything from giant mining trucks, locomotives, submarines, and other ocean-going vessels to generators for Facebook and Amazon server farms.

Those who knew Ivan will miss his good nature, kindness and devotion to those he cared for. He gave unconditional love to family and friends and was generous to all with his time and talents. We will miss him dearly.