Dr. Ihor Zajac

Dr. Ihor Zajac, 82, of St. John, IN, formerly of Hockessin, DE passed away on Sunday, January 12, 2014. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Dr. Barbara; his son Dr. Andrej (Dr. Deborah) Zajac. Ihor immigrated to the U.S. in 1949 from the Ukraine. He served with the U.S. Army, 82nd Airborne during the Korean War, and through his honorable service earned his U.S. citizenship. Ihor continued to serve his country for ten more years in the Army Reserve. Dr. Zajac earned his Bachelor Degree in Microbiology from the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD in Medical Microbiology from Hahnemann University. He was an Assistant Professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia doing basic research and teaching in Microbiology. Dr. Zajac then chose to redirect his career to pharmaceutical research in Infectious Disease at Smith-Kline Glaxo and then lastly at DuPont Pharmaceuticals. Ihor was a do-it-yourselfer and handyman, who always wanted to try a project first himself. He loved the Great Outdoors especially hiking, canoeing, and boating in his beloved Adirondack Mountains. Since 1968 the camp on Raquette Lake was the family's ideal retreat. Ihor was a loving and caring husband, father, and father-in-law, and will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Visitation will be on Thursday, January 16, 2014 from 4:00-5:00 and 6:00-7:00 PM with a funeral service from 5:00-6:00 PM with Fr. Yaroslav Mendyuk of St. Josaphat Ukrainian Catholic Church, officiating. Visitation and service to be held at Kish Funeral Home, 10000 Calumet Ave. Munster, IN. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Parkinson's research would be appreciated.