Rockwell Executive Dies of Heart Attack : Obituary: John Vaswani, 42, was stricken on international flight. Colleagues remember him as warm, talented man.

SEAL BEACH — A Rockwell International Corp. executive died late last week of a heart attack suffered during a business-related flight to Singapore, company officials announced Thursday.

John Vaswani, 42, vice president and general manager of Rockwell’s North American Aircraft Modification Division, died Saturday aboard a plane en route to a corporate meeting to assess Rockwell’s business ventures in Southeast Asia.

Colleagues remember Vaswani as a talented businessman with a warm heart.

“He had a good grasp of finance and a tremendous understanding of his competitors,” said John McLuckey, senior vice president of Rockwell who hired Vaswani in 1978. “Beyond that, he was a true friend, and something my wife and I talk about often is that he was someone you could always count on.”

Vaswani, born in Calcutta, attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration, McLuckey said.

Vaswani was instrumental in acquiring many defense contracts, among them a $1-billion deal to provide a combat system for the Royal Australian Navy in 1987, McLuckey said.

Vaswani is survived by his wife, Deborah Vaswani, and his parents.

A funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Saddleback Chapel, 220 E. Main St., Tustin. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Orange County, 23117 Plaza Pointe Drive, Suite 100, Laguna Hills, Calif. 92653.