Joseph Thomas Rukavina — Croatian Patriot Sucumbs
Joseph Rukavina, 91 years old of White Bear Lake, MN died on June 10, 2013 at Southview Acres Health Care Center in West St. Paul after five months battling cardio-renal syndrome and congestive heart failure. He was preceded in death by his beautiful wife of 61 years, Arlene Rukavina. He was born in Virginia, MN February 4, 1922 to Croatian immigrant parents, Thomas and Lucy Rukavina. He attended local Virginia schools and then two years at Virginia Junior College . Joe served in the US Navy for three years and earned a commendation for heroism on Iwo Jima. He graduated with two undergraduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and College of St. Thomas. He also, earned a Masters Degree in Education. He taught at Swanville H.S. for two years before starting his thirty plus years of extraordinary teaching and coaching at White Bear Lake H.S. Joe was a long time activist within the Democratic party and so proud of his work with three Croatian American groups: Croatian Fraternal Union, MN Croatian Cultural Society and the National Federation of Croatian Americans (co-founder). He was honored with awards from both the Republic of Croatia and The White House for his outstanding humanitarian work during the 1990s war in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. He was a founding member of St. Pius X Church in White Bear Lake and was active there for 59 years. Joe Rukavina, Mr. Ruk to many of his students and Deda to his many grandchildren and great-grand children was an unforgettable man who loved people and life to the fullest and was loved by so many. He is survived by children, Kay Marie (Steve Gavin), Joanne (Mark Fenner), Patty Bergstrom, Steve (Diane), John (Vickie) and Teresa; 13 grandchildren, Michael (Julie), & Tony (Jennifer) Barger, Eric (Greta), John (Keri) & Bridget Bergstrom, Jason Rukavina, Lisa (Todd) Rukavina Schwartz, James Rukavina Fenner, and Joy, Joseph, Jacob, Daniel and Faithanne Rukavina; 8 great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews. The family extends a very special thank you and appreciation to all the staff at Southview Acres for their loving care over the last four months. Memorials in his name can be donated to: CFU Scholarship Foundation (501) (c) (3) For the Joseph Rukavina Family Scholarship Fund and sent to: Mr. Bernard Luketich, Croatian Fraternal Union, 100 Delaney Drive, Pittsburgh PA 15235. Mass of Christian Burial Saturday, June 15 at 11 AM at ST. PIUS X CHURCH, 3878 Highland Ave., WBL. Visitation Friday, June 14, from 4-8 PM and one hour prior to Mass at church. There will be a 7:00 PM Sharing Time set aside as part of the Friday night visitation. Internment at Evergreen Memorial Gardens.
Joe Rukavina: An Unforgetable Man
How can one in a few minutes sum up the life of my father, Joe Rukavina!
As so many of you know, he was a wonderful father and grandfather, the Deda, devout Catholic, devoted husband, gifted teacher,coach and Democratic and Croatian American activist, WW II veteran and for me, my best friend and mentor. He was a Gopher and we were fellow Tommie graduates, too!
My father came from what Tom Brokaw called the “ greatest generation” and Joe Rukavina was truly a Reniassance man and this son of Croatian immigrants Thomas and Luce Rukavinaembraced life so fully everyday. He was at the University of Minnesotaand lucky to be President of the Rangers Club one year and thus was able to meet a very smart and beautiful woman, Arlene Pirila from Ely ! Their first date was on Valentine’s Day 1948 and he passed on the day of their 63rd wedding anniversary and who said my dad was not a romantic.
The joke about my parents is that (pause) “ my mom knew everything and my dad knew everyone!
My siblings and I grew up all the time hearing ” Oh you’re Joe’s kid” and I must admit back then and when I was young I got tired of hearing that line ! However, it really was a wonderful life growing up in White Bear Lake and getting to know so many of my dad’s friends and his incredibly talented teacher friends.
We are here today at my dad’s church which he attended for 59 years and he was a founding member of St. Pius X Church. I was the 2nd baby baptized here and the first four of Joe’s kids went to parochial school here and Teresa did later too.Dad believed in catholic education. My father was a man of deep faith and spirituality.
Faith, family,education and hard work he use to say were the hallmark values handed down by his father and instilled by his Croatian heritage.
Joe Rukavina, the teacher I know touched the lifes of so many of studentsand he had such a gift to connect, inspire and find the uniqueness and specialness of each and every one ofhis students, no matter what their level and interest.I have had a few tell me he had a magnetic personality.
He loved his life as a teacher and took such pride in his profession and trying to make a difference in the lifes of his students. He was one of my favorite teachers too and I had to take him for his cutting edge foreign policy and international affairs class.
He loved going to all the reunions and he garnered so much satisfaction from all the reunions and all his students who treated him like royalty. I called him one day last Sept. and he was going out the door to a reunion and I said Dad, it’s Monday and who has a reunion on a Monday and it was the Class of 1959 and they were having a floating lunch on the St. Croix River that day. He just loved seeing his students anytime anywhere.Last year over 200 of his students came together to celebrate his 90th birthday and wow what a birthday salute that Mike Fredericks and Louie LeVasseur arranged. It was a spectacular affair which touched his soul.
My Mom said in a 1999 White Bear Press interview,“ Joe’s impact on the youth in this community is inescapable.” She added that “ we can’t go anywhere in town without being stopped by somebody and former students still come up and give him hugs” My dad said in 2011 interview that he “loved teaching and it’s all about the kids and their energy and motivating them “ My dad believed that teaching was a most noble and honorable profession.
As many of you know, he was so proud of his wrestlers and having started that program at White Bear Lake with assistant coach and close friend Frank Perpich. Hewas always so pleased that so many of his wrestlers kept in touch with him over the years and several took him to lunch a few months ago which was a real special treat.
He loved football too, and coached high school footballboth at Swanville and White Bear and he was my football coach for 4 years with flag football and 25 years later I was running the same double reverses and trick plays with my son and his friends as their football coach!
My father was a proud WW II veteran who was a Fighting Sea Bee within the US Navy and his front line work for four months on Iwo Jima earned a US Navy commendation ribbon for heroism on that island. He so proud of his military service and having served on Iwo Jima that decided to spend a few extra dollars to add those words on his gravestone and trust me, my Dad was a child of the depression and did not spend any money frivolously.
If you knew my father for at least 30 minutes, you would know he is of Croatian descent and he was so proud of that and so involved here in Minnesota with the Croatian community and nationwide too ! He was a keyco-founder of the National Federation of Croatian Americans and was at the national convention in Cleveland last year. He won the major Pletar award from the Republic of Croatia for his work on behalf of theirnew democracy. He was a 60 year member of the Croatian Fraternal Union and even went to their convention in Buffalo last year with grandson Tony as his traveling mate for four days.
Imagine how lucky I feel to have gone to Croatia 6 times with my father and it was a little slice of heaven each time to see him with our Rukavina-Ugarkovic and Golic relatives and imagine my dad “The Streez” the family elder singing songs in Croatian and telling them stories and jokes ! Our Croatian relatives just kept smilingand loved every second of it and so did I.
It was Croatian Americans like my father that kept Croatian culture and music alive in America when Communists within Yugoslavia made cultural or religious expression in Croatia dangerous or against the law.
Dad was even honored at the White Houseevent in 1998 and received an award from First Lady Hillary Clinton for his outstanding humanitarian work in Croatia during the war years of the 1990s and the cute story about that award was that when the White House first called he hung up on them and he thought it was a prank call but it was not !
I know so many of you know how active he was in politics in MN and he was good friends and political allies with Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Governor Rudy Perpich and Congressman Bruce Vento. He got me startedin politics andhe dragged a lot of White Bear Lake folks to precinct caucuses over the years and was always preaching good citzenship. I even got a LBJ fellowship on Capitol Hillin the late 1970sbecause I was Joe’s kid and that started my work in the nation’s capital.It’s so gratifying to share that after high school my dad and I created such a special father-son bond and shared so many similar interests with a synchronized passion.
I was always in aweabout how my dad found a way to connect with people everywhere and not just in Minnesota. He could find a common denominator with anyone within 5-10 minutes and he had such a gift, true gift in that regard ! People matterand that was such a valuable lesson I learned from my dad and in so many ways over the years!
For 90 years and 9 months until the cascade of medical procedures Joe Rukavina lived life to the fullest.
As you may know, my dad, the Deda, the Croatian name for grandfather as he was affectionately calledby his grandkids and great grandchildren, was so proud of his extended Rukavina clan and offspring. He was even called Dedaby 8-10 staffers at Southviewwhere he spent over 100 days this year in rehabilitation.
All of us Joe’s kids have been so gratified and proud that we have heard from so many folks and especially all his caregivers of late about our father’s: strength, grace and determination over the challenging last five months. He was so brave and committed to walking again.
Just a few weeks ago he called me and said did you hearthat I did 60 steps today and two days later it was 70 steps on one leg in PT.
This past Monday am when Father Jay was at his bedside giving him his last rites he woke and said “Thank you Father” and that’s my dad …. mojotacwho was so well mannered and so very thankful, sazve for everything, a true child of the depression.
Thornton Wilder once wrote about death: All that we know about those we have loved and lost (pause) is that they would wish us to remember them with a more intensified realization of their reality. What is essential does not die but clarifies. The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude !
I would be remiss if I did not mention how devoted my dad was to our mother over my Mom’s last five years. Dad’s dedication to her was so inspirational and his devotion so incredibly loving as he spent 5-7 hours every day with her at the nursing home …
I was so blessed to have a fatherand best friend like Joe Rukavina and I will go to my grave proud, so proud (pause) and grateful(pause) that I was Joes’ kid and I know my brother John, and sisters Kay Marie, Joanne, Patty and Teresa feel the same way.
In closing, I know that in our lifetimes we all will meet good, great, smart and successful men but my dad (pause) should win an award for being unforgettable, simply unforgettable and truly one of a kind.
God bless each and every one of you for being here today.
Steve Rukavina
Formatted for CROWN by Marko Puljic
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