IN MEMORIAM
My grandfather, Ivan Rebac, died on Friday. He was 92 years old. He was getting weak due to a hip fracture a few weeks ago, but no one expected his health to decline so rapidly.
For most of his life he was a paragon of physical stamina. In his youth he was an active athlete, and for a while as a captain he led the soccer club “Zrinjski” in Mostar. As a forestry engineer he managed to combine his professional life with a great love for the outdoors. Until well into his old age he was a very active fisherman and a hunter. It was with a lot of pride that he would show his hunting trophies to the guests at his apartment, and his fridge was always well stocked with freshly caught fish. As any passionate hunter, he loved to share stories from his adventures. He was good at narrating tales in general, most of which came from his long and rich life. As a kid I would insist on having him tell me many stories before going to bed. Some of those stories were semi-fictional, dealing with heroes both ancient and modern. I’d like to think that my love of a good story can at least in part be credited to his influence.
He lived through some very turbulent history. His life spanned two World Wars, and the war of break-up of Yugoslavia. This last one, although not as wide in scope, was no less brutal then the other two. Through all the tumultuous upheavals he managed to stick to his core values and basic human dignity, even in times when it would have seemed more prudent to do otherwise. In the end, he and his values have long outlived all the short-sighted ideologies that wanted to usurp them.
My grandpa and my late grandma Zorica had three children: my uncles Ljubo and Željko and my late mom Zlata. He is survived by seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He will be remembered by many more whose lives he had touched. May the dear God grant rest to his soul and may He bring him back to eternal life.