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 »  Home  »  In Memoriam  »  Valentine Ivankovic in memoriam 1925 - 2007
Valentine Ivankovic in memoriam 1925 - 2007
By Martin Cvjetković | Published  12/5/2007 | In Memoriam | Unrated
He was a guest lecturer at universities, Christian, Jewish and Islamic centers
Valentine Z. Ivankovic  1925-1007



With his family by his side, Valentine Ivankovic passed peacefully to be by the Lord's side on November 29, 2007. Valentine (Val) was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina of Croatian parents, Andrijia and Jaka. He graduated from Second State High School, attended College in Italy and graduated Commercial School in the United States. At the time Val was among the youngest first league soccer players in Bosnia, Croatia, and Italy. He was among the few survivors of the post WWII massacre at Bleiburg. To escape communism, he eventually fled his homeland to Rome, Italy. At San Jerome College he met the late Monsignor Anton Gulik who appointed him Secretary General in charge of assisting refugees from Eastern Europe with resettlement. In 1947 he came to the United States, eventually landing in Los Angeles under the sponsorship of the burgeoning Croatian community here. An affable hard worker, he quickly found employment at Bullocks Department Stores. Not soon after he left for the employ of a national discounter, S.H. Kress. This began a near 40-year career in retail, eventually leading to the position of President of S.H. Kress West and Director of its parent company Genesco, Inc. In 1952 he met and married his lovely wife, Ernestine. They were married for 55 years and had one daughter, Tina Marie, an attorney and partner at the law firm of Ford, Walker, Haggerty and Behar. Although his career caused him to relocate the family several times from coast-to-coast, he always considered San Pedro his home. He returned to San Pedro for good in 1981. Val gave every bit of his time to his family, the Croatian community and the Church. He was the co-founder of the first Croatian American Cultural Club where he was President for ten years. He was a frequent speaker and supporting member of the first Croatian Radio Program in Los Angeles. He co-founded the first Croatian Soccer Club "Bosna" in Los Angeles. He was Secretary of the Croatian National Association and Executive Director. He served as President of the Croatian Catholic Family Guild at Mary Star of the Sea Parish in San Pedro where he was a lecturer, Eucharistic Minister and a guaranteed volunteer for most any and every event. Most recently he was proud to serve as President of the Archdiocesan Ethnic Community Council for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Val was an avid reader of all subjects. Fluent in many languages he was a guest lecturer at universities, Christian, Jewish and Islamic centers, and other institutions around the world. He participated in the peace negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland that brought an end to the war in Bosnia. He was later present for the formal treaty signing at the White House with former President Bill Clinton. Valentine will be sorely missed and is survived by his wife, Ernestine; his daughter, Tina Mangarpan; son-in-law, Jeff Mangarpan; step-granddaughter, Kristina Mangarpan, the absolute love of his life granddaughter Brittany Mangarpan, sister Tonka Grubesic, and several sisters and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews all of whom he dearly loved. He was pre-deceased by two bothers John and Rile Ivankovic and sister Nada.A Funeral Mass will be offered at Mary Star of the Sea Parish in San Pedro on December 6, 2007 at 10:30 am. Visitation will be on December 5, 2007 from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at McNerny's Mortuary in San Pedro with a rosary service beginning at 7:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mary Star of the Sea Capital Campaign, 870 West 8th Street, San Pedro, CA 90731. Please sign the guest book at www.dailybreeze.com/obits.

Source: http://www.legacy.com/dailybreeze/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=99026964


Valentine Z. Ivanković  1925-1007

Blago u Gospodinu preminuo je Valentin Z. Ivanković 29. studenog 2007. u San Pedru, California.  Po svim ljutskim procjenama Valentin je bio u izvanrednu zdravlju i uvijek mladolika izgleda, ali čovjek nikad ne zna kad će ga Gospodin pozvati k sebi.  Tako je i naš Valentin naglo umro u svojoj kući, kraj svoje vjerne gospodje Ernestine, za koju se on nesebično brinuo u njezinim zdravstvenim brigama zadnjih godina.

       Valentinov životni put, kao i život cijele njegove generacije u Hrvata, bio je ispleten više trnjem nego ružama, ali on je uz sve (ne)prilike proživio vrlo uspješan i sretan ljutski život.

       Valentin je rodjen u Sarajevu od roditelja Andrije i Jake Ivanković, koji su podrijetlom iz sela Trebižat u Hercegovini.  Poslije osnovne škole, pohadjao je Drugu drzavnu gimnaziju u Sarajevu i maturirao.  Kasnije se doškolovao u Italiji, a u Americi je završio višu komercionalnu školu.

       Na koncu Drugog svjetskog rata Valentin se našao sa stotinama tisuća drugih Hrvata na povlačenju prema Austriji.  Ali za razliku od većine, on je imao sreću i izvukao se živ, te stigao u Italiju.  Kao mlad i sposoban čojvek dao se na rad oko pomaganja izbjeglicama.  U Hrvatskom zavodu sv. Jeronima susreo je, medju ostalim hrvatskim svećenicima, Monsignora Antu Golika, koji mu je povjerio tajništvo ureda za izbjeglice iz tkzv. Istočne Europe.

       Godine 1947. Valentin stiže u Ameriku i dolazi u Los Angeles.  Nije gubio vrijeme, nego se dao na posao i doškolovanje.  Medju ostalim, radio je 40 godina za veliku trgovačku kuću S.H. Kress.  Njegova sposobnost, marljivost i profesionalizam dovele su ga do mjesta predsjednika Kress-a na zapadnoj strani Amerike, kao i direktora tvrtke Genesco, vlasnika kuće Kress.

       Pet godina nakon dolaska u Novi svijet, Valentine se vjenčao sa Ernestine, te imali su jednu kćerku (Tina Marie) i živjeli 55 godina u sretnom braku.  Kćerka je završila pravo i danas je suvlasnik odvjetničkog ureda u Californiji.  Obitelj je radi Valentinova posla morala nekoliko puta mijenjati mjesto boravka, ali Valentinu je Californija uvijek ostala u srcu, te čim je otišao u mirovinu smjestio se (1981.) u San Pedru.

       Premda u mirovini, Valentin nije nikada imao mira.  Bio je neumoran u višestranim društvenim djelatnosima.  Samo da napomenemo neke.  Bio je jedan od osnivača Hrvatsko-američkog kulturng kluba u San Pedru i njegov predsjednik 10 godina.  Pomagao je oko Hrvatskog radio rasporeda u Los Anglesu.  Bio je i medju osnivačima Hrvatskog kluba Bosna.  To ga je valjda podsjećalo na mlade dane u Sarajevu kad je bio vratar za sarajevskog prvoligaša.  Vršio je razne dužnosti u odboru Hrvatske narodne udruge u Los Angeles-u.  Bio je predsjednik Hrvatskog katoličkog obiteljskog udruženja u župi Marije Zvijezde Mora u San Pedru, gdje je pomagao i u liturgijskim slavljima na razne načine.  Zadnjih nekoliko godina Valentin je bio predsjednikom Vijeća etničkih zajednica za Nadbiskupiju Los Angeles.  To vijeće okuplja ljude ne samo iz etničkh, nego i različitih vjerskih zajednica u zajedničkim ekumenskim razgovorima i pothvatima.  Bila je to delikatna dužnost, ali Valentin ju je uspješno, časno i s ljubavlju obavljao.

       Valentin je bio ponosan na svoju katoličku vjeru i hrvatsku nacionalnost, ali uvijek otvoren za sve druge koji su odani miru, dijalogu i čovjekoljublju.  Kad je zadnji rat zahvato Hrvatsku i Bosnu i Hercegovinu, bio je neumoran u radu za obranu domovine, ali i u traženju mira.  U misiji mira je išao (sa svojim prijateljima Stipom i Louise Bubalo, te Perom Radielović) u razrušeno i ubojitim oružjem okruženo Sarajevo da bi pomogao zaustavljanju besmislenog krvarenja, posebice izmedju Bošnjaka i Hrvata. 

       Pogreb pok. Valentina bio je istinsko svjedočenje o njegovu životu i radu.  Mnoštvo prijatelja i poznanika okupili su se na blagdan sv. Nikole, 6. prosinca, u prostranoj crkvi Marije Zvijezde Mora u San Pedru na posljedni oproštaj sa čovjekom kojeg su cijenili i voljeli.  Misno slavlje je predvodio Msgn. Oscar Solis, pomocni biskup Nadbiskupije Los Angeles, a s njim je koncelebriralo 14 svećenika.  Tu su se takodjer našli predstavnici dvadesetak etničkih i vjerskih zajednica iz Los Angelesa i okolice.  Njegova kćerka je zadivila sve svojim govorom, evocirajući život i rad svog tate na kojeg je bila toliko ponosna.

       Bilo je to slavlje zahvale Bogu za jedan plodonosan ljudski život; slavlje što je Bog poslao Valentina na ovaj svijet u kojem je djelio sebe sa drugima i uvijk ostao vedar, bistar, nasmijan i pun ljubavi za Boga, Crkvu, svoj hrvatski narod i svakog čovjeka.

       U ime mnogobrojnih Valentinovih prijatelja i Saveza Hrvata Bosne i Hercegovine u Americi neka mu je vječni pokoj i hvala za sve što je na ovom svijetu dobra učinio.

Ante Čuvalo - Chicago



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  Marko Puljić
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