Friends, family and co-workers of Judy Albert dedicated a bench, a Hokie stone and a lily magnolia tree near the building where she worked in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. The pilot of the gyroplane, also a co-worker, who couldn't attend contributed a miniature lighthouse.

Photos by JUSTIN COOK The Roanoke Times

Family, friends and co-workers of Judy Albert, who was killed in a gyroplane crash last year, gather at her memorial at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center on Monday. From left: Albert's mother, Linda Albert; Frank Riley and Albert's sister Janet Riley; sister-in-law Jessica Gravley and husband Chris Gravley; and sister Julie Gravley stand at her memorial. "I can tell she was really loved by the people she worked with," Julie Gravley says.

BLACKSBURG -- About 50 friends and co-workers gathered Monday night to dedicate a memorial for Judy Albert on the one-year anniversary of her death in a gyroplane crash in Blacksburg.

They dedicated a bench, a Hokie stone and a lily magnolia tree, planted near the building where she worked as a systems engineer in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. Randy Marchany, a co-worker who organized the dedication, kept his comments short and simple as friends and family gathered around the tree.

"She touched a lot of lives, especially all of us here at work while she was here," Marchany said of Albert. "I miss her."

Albert was 43 when the amateur-built Mad Max II Special gyroplane in which she was riding crashed about 1 p.m. in the back yard of a home on Landsdowne Street and caught fire. The pilot, Randy Pelt of Blacksburg, was seriously injured. He has since recovered and returned to work part time but is still undergoing physical therapy for his injuries.

A scholarship for local students attending Tech will be established in Albert's name, Marchany said. He told those gathered that, if they can raise can raise $50,000 in the next five years, it will be permanently endowed.

Pelt, a co-worker of Albert's, couldn't attend the event because of family obligations, but he contributed a miniature lighthouse to the dedication. Albert loved the beach and collected lighthouse models. Pelt had bought the lighthouse for her before the crash.

Witnesses reported seeing the gyroplane, a two-seat aircraft similar to a helicopter, circle before crashing, and Pelt radioed the Virginia Tech-Montgomery County Executive Airport to report problems before the crash, according to a final report the National Transportation Safety Board issued Aug. 28. The report cites "a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons" as the cause of the crash. The plane, built by Pelt, lost engine power about 400 feet above ground level and began to "sink" as the planes are designed to do.

Then, according to the report, "with no suitable terrain available for a forced landing, the gyroplane impacted a tree. It then fell about 40 feet to the ground and was engulfed in a post crash fire."

Several people gathered Monday spoke about Albert's sense of humor, loyalty to friends and caring nature.

"Every time I would cough, Judy would come over with a Jolly Rancher," said John Worrell, a co-worker who sat two cubicles away from Albert.

He said she gave him so many that the candies accumulated on his desk -- and are still there, a reminder of his friend's kindness.

"I won't eat those," he said.

Another co-worker, Jane Kirkman, recalled how Albert loved dressing up for Halloween and how much fun they would have during the holiday. She said Albert was quick to laugh and give out hugs to friends.

Albert, a Montgomery County native and Blacksburg High School graduate, worked in Tech's information technology division for more than 20 years. Family members in attendance said they are grateful for the memorial and all the people who came to pay tribute to her Monday.

"I can tell she was really loved by the people she worked with," said her sister Julie Gravley.