Wasilla Navy veteran gives old wheelchairs new life

What you need to know:

• Wasilla veteran Michael Fugere, 72, has spent the past decade volunteering to repair electric wheelchairs for seniors, veterans and others in need.
• Fugere credits his four years in the Navy with providing the technical skills that led to a career repairing sophisticated aerospace and medical equipment. He now uses those skills to help others.
• After retiring at age 58 because of health issues, Fugere says VA health care has been invaluable to his quality of life. He encourages fellow veterans to enroll in VA health care, even if they have other coverage.
• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

Four years in the U.S. Navy gave Michael Fugere a lifetime of opportunities. Five decades later, he’s using the skills he gained to create opportunities for others in his community.

For the past decade, Fugere, 72, has volunteered his time fixing electric wheelchairs at his Wasilla home.

“I saw a need and just started doing it,” he said during an interview earlier this week.

Fugere works with Valley Charities and the ACE Lending Closet to receive damaged chairs from seniors, veterans and others in need. A lifetime of tinkering and a career spent working on everything from sophisticated aerospace equipment to medical imaging devices have given him the ability to fix just about anything, he said.

“I have the ability to troubleshoot stuff that I've never seen before,” he said.

Fugere served in the Navy from 1974 to 1978 and was stationed at Moffett Field in California's Bay Area. There, he worked on computerized anti-submarine warfare systems and received specialized training that proved invaluable to his later civilian career, which included stints working on machine tools for Boeing, CT scanners for Philips Medical and X-ray machines for Alaska Open Imaging.

We he began working on CT scanners in 1983 he was the 14th person in the nation to do that work, he said. 

“Again, I go back to that basic Navy training,” he said. “That has led me through all that.”

The Navy gave him a background in computers that has served him throughout his life. Fugere calls himself an “electromechanical wizard” and goes by the nickname “TNQR,” short for “Tinker.”

While working on electric wheelchairs isn’t nearly as demanding as servicing high-tech medical imaging devices or aerospace tools, Fugere said it’s extremely rewarding to be able to help others.

Fugere said he typically refurbishes about 20 chairs a year. This past summer, he went through 12, nine of which were repairable. Sometimes the chairs just need a new battery or a little extra TLC. 

Many are abandoned after their batteries go bad. Rather than sending the chairs back to the manufacturer, it’s much easier for people to bring them to Fugere for repairs in his garage.

“There’s always complaints about people not being able to get stuff worked on because it was too expensive, or they were put out six weeks on a waiting list to get it looked at by the manufacturer,” he said. “So, I just fill in.”

In his free time, Fugere said he likes to ride motorcycles and logged more than 4,000 miles last summer. That included a solo trip up the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse that took six days and five nights. The trick, he said, is not to rush.

“You need to get to the end. You don't need to get there fast,” he said.

He said he’s grateful to the Navy for giving him a lifetime of skills. But he’s also thankful for the support he’s received from Uncle Sam in his later years. Forced to retire at age 58 because of seizures, he said the support and health benefits he’s received from the Department of Veterans Affairs have been invaluable to his quality of life.

He said he's had five surgeries in the past 10 years and that VA coverage has been enormously helpful.

“Uncle Sam's taken really good care of me,” he said.

Fugere said he encourages his fellow veterans to enroll in VA health care, even if they have other benefits.

“When you sign up for that healthcare, the veterans get funding for bigger hospitals,” he said. “It's very important that veterans know that.”

Individuals who need help with power wheelchairs can text message Fugere at 907-841-8677. New chair batteries typically cost $450, while other fixes vary by chair and issue he said. 

Matt Tunseth is a freelance writer from Southcentral Alaska. Write to him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com.