A memorial service will be held for Ann Carlin Ozegovic and Jack Ozegovic on February 2, 2019 at 11:00 am at Salemsborg Lutheran Church, located three miles south of Smolan, KS. A reception will be held immediately following the service at the C&W Ranch at 4000 South Halstead Road, Smolan, KS. On Sunday, February 3rd from 1-4 pm, friends and family are also invited to gather to remember Ann and Jack at the home of Matt and Judy Veatch,1646 Massachusetts St., Lawrence KS.
He died December 15, 2018, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.
Jack was born April 19, 1932, in Saginaw, Michigan, the son of Michael L. and Rose T. Seibert Ozegovic.
He graduated from high school in 1950 and worked for Ried Paper Company prior to entering the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1954. In 1956, he added part-time study at Tufts University until completing his program in 1958. In 1974, Jack earned his MFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University, and engaged in advanced study at the Tamarind Institute of Lithography that summer.
Jack taught art at Gettysburg College from 1964-1968 and then at Northwestern Michigan College, in Traverse City, Michigan, from 1968 until his retirement in 1989. He is a past member of the College Art Association and the American Association of University Professors.
Jack married Ann Carlin on December 20, 1969, in Traverse City. Following his retirement from teaching, they moved to Lawrence, Kansas, in 1989. During his thirty years in Lawrence, Jack cultivated friendships, ushered at the Lied Center, and participated in many Lawrence Arts Center activities.
A painter and printmaker of extraordinary creativity, Jack experimented with many styles, techniques, and media. His work expressed a refined sense of color and form; deep appreciation for the natural world; and sharp commentary on contemporary life, culture, and politics. Jack’s art has been exhibited in Lawrence and widely around the Midwest.
Jack was an eloquent and prolific writer. He continued to type letters to friends and family long after the emergence of digital technology. In 2000, the Ice Cube Press of North Liberty, Iowa, published a book of Jack’s pithy and often humorous memories of his Michigan experiences. The original manuscript is in the literary archives of the University of Iowa.
Aside from his art and writing, Jack also enjoyed gardening, railroading, world history, beer and wine making, and fine music.
He is survived by his wife, Ann. Other survivors include his brother-in-law, former Kansas Governor John Carlin and wife Lynn, a niece, a nephew, a grand niece, two grand nephews and many cousins in the United States, Austria, Germany, Croatia and Serbia and many beloved friends in Lawrence and around the country. Thanks for the memories.
He is preceded in death by his parents and sister Joan Ozegovic.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lawrence Humane Society or Bert Nash Community Health Center, sent in care of Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.
