Obituary of John Kepic

John Kepic, 90, of Libertyville, died suddenly Dec. 19 at Advocate Condell Libertyville. He was born Jan. 15, 1922 in Slovenia and had been a Lake Co. resident since the early 1950's. John spent his childhood in the idyllic setting of the mountains of Slovenia from a prosperous farming family near the Austrian border. During the war the entire family endured great unimaginable hardships that included tragic death of an older brother and John's own harrowing escape from the Germans and the Communists. John and Theresa were married in a concentration camp in Austria. John and Theresa immigrated to the US by way of a Liberty ship through Ellis Island in 1949, while his family remained in Slovenia and his wife's family immigrated to Argentina. John and his wife, Theresa, were sponsored by his uncle and initially settled in Wisconsin. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Waukegan to settle and Theresa was born. Although there were hardships along the way, that included financial commitments to his family in Slovenia, they pursued the American dream. Anna was born and then Yanko. The family experienced the loss of the youngest child, Yanko, in 1969. The girls continued to pursue their education. Theresa married Frank and Ivana and Andrei came into the picture. John and Theresa stepped up to the plate and raised their grandchildren while Frank and Theresa completed their schooling and began to work. The extended family, now including the Naeymi-Rad's, were fortunate to experience the Kepic wisdom and work ethic. Survivors include his wife Theresa; his daughters Theresa (Frank Naeymi-Rad, Ph.D, MBA) Kepic, MD and Anna Kepic; his grandchildren Ivana (Kevin Philp) Naeymi-Rad and Andrie Naeymi-Rad and his sisters Marinka and Milka. He was preceded in death by his son Yanko. Funeral Mass will be 11:00 AM Sat. Dec. 22 at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 121 East Maple Ave., Libertyville following with interment at Ascension Cemetery, Libertyville. Visitation Sat. from 9:00-10:30 AM at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, 101 Park Place, Libertyville. If desired, memorial donations made to the Leukemia Research Foundation, 3520 Lake Ave., Suite 202, Wilmette, IL. 60091 would be greatly appreciated. Funeral info (847) 362-2626. Please sign the guest book at libertyvillefuneralhome.com