In Memoriam

Joseph M. Condic died on February 21, 2009 in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  He was born on November 21, 1924. in Chicago to an immigrant Croatian family.  His father, Marko Čondić, came from Svib, near Imotsk, and his mother, Tona Utrobičić, from Slime, a village near the river Cetina.  They were married in Chicago in 1921 and had eight children.  The family was shaken by Marko’s death in 1935, but Tona, regardless of her misfortunes and the Great Depression, raised their children in a way that any parent would be proud of.

Joseph, or as many of us called him Jozo, pursued a higher education and earned a Ph.D. which was followed by career as a professor at the Department of Humanities, Western Michigan University. Kalamazoo, Michigan, for 34 years.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Dolores, of 53 years, seven children (Dorena , Marin David, Melanie, Maureen, Eric, Adam, and Samuel), eighteen grandchildren, five siblings (John, Mark, Peter, Simon, and Rosanda), and over seventy descendents of Marko and Tona Condic. He was buried from St. Augustine Cathedral and laid to rest at Mountain Home Cemetery, Kalamazoo.

Joseph Condic was a member, among other organizations, of the Association for Croatian Studies and served as its president in the late 1980s.  It should also be mentioned that Jozo translated and prepared for publication a manuscript of his friend, the late Ivan Supek, entitled  Crown Witness against Hebrang. Chicago, Markanton Press, 1983.  The writings of this renowned Croatian physicist and humanist were banned by the communist regime at the time.

Jozo was a faithful husband, an excellent father, a great teacher, and a truly humble man. For that reason, this in memoriam to such a wonderful person and a friend, is also humble.

Ante Čuvalo