Theodore Gerick Kucij

Mr. Theodore Gerick Kucij was born on March 24, 1923 in New York City, New York. He was born to Dimitri Kucij and Helen Gareta Kucij. They were from Ukraine and immigrated to New York City in 1914. Ted was 88 years of age and a resident of Flemington, MO for 18 years, where he lived with his wife, June Kucij. They spent much of their lives in California and Minnesota, where they raised their 3 children. He passed away on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at the Big Spring Care Center in Humansville, MO. Having served in the Air Force during WWII, it is interesting to think he passed away on the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. As a young man, he joined the United States Air Force, where he served as an Air Traffic Controller during WWII. Later, stationed in California, he met and married the love of his life, June Krebs on August 11, 1945. They were married until her death on May 9, 2011, just before what would have been their 66th anniversary. During his career, he lead the Reliability Engineering effort on some of the nations most illustrious programs, including Minuteman, Apollo and Saturn II at North American Aviation; Mark 46 Torpedo Program at Honeywell and the B-2 Bomber at Northrop. He loved music and enjoyed dabbling as an amateur musician. That love of music sparked the interest of his son, Tim M. Kucij at a young age. Together they built their own pipe organ in their home in California and later moved it to Minnesota. This led to Tim becoming a composer, pianist and organist. Years later, Ted was very proud when his son presented him with two CD recordings of his music, entitled A Place Somewhere and LifeSongs . He was a devoted husband and family man for over 65 years. He was a loving and caring father and took time for all of his children, making sure to develop their special interests, whether it was music, horses, hiking, boating, amateur ham radio, photography or whatever they were enjoying at the time. He loved working on projects around their home, family time, photography, boating, building lily ponds, spending time with his pets or watching for wildlife, and generally enjoying the great outdoors. His hobbies were incorporated into their family life as he bought and worked on boats on several occasions they went hiking or on family vacations they enjoyed going to their cabin in the mountains or spending time at their home on the lake, where they often went into town by boating across the lake. His kids have wonderfully fond memories of their growing-up years and he will be greatly missed as they reflect on the memories which he left them. When describing his personality, one of the first things that comes to mind is his sense of humor. He loved to make jokes. He d turn his glasses upside down, look at you with the silliest look on his face and say Things are looking up! Ted is survived by his 3 children, Mary A. Haley of Flemington, MO; Lenore H. Porter of Weaubleau, MO and Tim M. Kucij of Claremont, CA. He is also survived by two grandsons, Thomas Jared Kucij and Carter G. Porter and two great-grandchildren, Andrei and Aryanna Kucij. He was predeceased by his wife, June Krebs Kucij, his parents, Dimitri and Helen Kucij and his sister, Lillian Kucij Malick. To honor his wishes, no funeral services are planned. The necessary final arrangements were made through Murray Funeral Home in Humansville. PDF Printable Version

Theodore Gerick Kucij

March 24, 1923 - December 7, 2011