VUKAN KUIC

Vukan Kuic, Columbia, SC

Vukan Kuic, beloved and devoted husband, father and grandfather, passed away on Tuesday, February 20, three days after celebrating his 95th birthday with his family. Vukan spent his career teaching government and international studies at the University of South Carolina. In his younger days, he was a runner and swimmer and could often be seen jogging around campus and swimming at the athletic center. Besides teaching and writing, Vukan loved growing vegetables in his backyard garden, walking in the neighborhood, and family beach vacations.

Vukan was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, to Simeon and Aglaja Kuic. He had very fond memories of his hometown and would relive stories of choosing penny candy at his family’s general store, going to the movies, and hanging out with friends in the city. His home life was interrupted by WWII, during which he traveled to Austria then Italy on a student visa. During the war, being able to speak several languages, he worked as a translator for an Allied newspaper in Trieste. Vukan emigrated to the United States, landing at Ellis Island in May 1950. Straight out of the American immigrant storybook, Vukan got a job in a steel mill in Chicago and went on to earn his MA at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago. While in Boulder, he met his devoted wife of 56 years, Louise Cobb Kuic. They married in 1957 and together lovingly raised six children. His teaching career began at the University of Alabama where he witnessed the first African-American students allowed enrollment. In 1966, after a year as a visiting fellow in Santa Barbara, CA at the Center for Study of Democratic Institutions, Vukan and Louise moved with four young daughters to Columbia where their youngest two children were born. He was a distinguished professor at USC for 25 years.

Vukan is predeceased by his wife, Louise, and sister, Mirjana Kuic, and survived by his children, Angela Gorman and husband Charles of Columbia; Sonja McFarland and husband Jim of Wilmington, NC; Mira Ormsby and husband Greg of Worcester, MA; Tanja Kuic of Asheville, NC, Simeon Kuic, and wife Shannon of Asheville, NC and Elena Bowen of Fort Mill; 12 beautiful grandchildren; and nephew, Vuko Engel of Zagreb, Croatia.

A service for family and friends will be held on Saturday, March 3, 2018, at 3:00 pm at the Chapel of Columbia Presbyterian Community, 700 Davega Drive, Lexington, SC 29073. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Jasmine Place at Columbia Presbyterian Community.

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