William Adam Kozlovich Jr's Obituary
William (Bill) Kozlovich lived and died on his own terms. He was a man who wrote his entire autobiography because one of his grandchildren sent him a book of questions to get to know him better. In his own words his story is “about the children Joan and I helped to create and their influence and inspiration to others. It is the beginning of a giant ripple effect.”
This ripple began when Bill was born in Chicago on April 30, 1931 and continues even after his passing on the 5th of August 2019. The story is the rich life between those two dates. Bill left a legacy of love with his wife, Barbara Kozlovich, his children, Jim, Debbie, Jeff, and Carol and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.
He was born during the Depression era and grew up in the shadow of WWII. He was ten years old when the news broke of the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the memory stayed with him for the remainder of his life. He would tell stories of his family’s Victory Garden and the solace that could be found in growing one’s own sustenance. The only thing that kept Bill from becoming a Marine at eighteen was the pressure from his mother to accept the Mining Engineering scholarship he received in 1949 to attend the University of Illinois. A knee injury brought him back home where he ended up on the Wright Jr. College football team. Bill and Joan were married in 1951 in Chicago where they had their first two children and then moved to California for work in 1956 where they raised their four children. After his divorce from his first wife, Bill met Barbara Lockard. Bill and Barbara were married in 1978 and again in 2000 after reconnecting.
Bill held many jobs throughout his life starting as a field investigator for Household Finance Corp (HFC) to HFC Branch Manager to running a law firm. After moving to Hawaii he ran an interior design business, a credit processing business, and a personal finance and tax filing business.
Bill was a people person and a businessman; he was endlessly curious about people. He would ask his grandkids, his children, wait staff, and the occasional passerby questions: What is the meaning of life? What is the Universe made of? What is your favorite word? What does it mean to you to be you? How do you define yourself? How do you define love? So, pass on his legacy, ask questions and get to know the people around you.
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