Edward Benedict Jakubauskas PhD

Edward B. Jakubauskas, 83, of Fort Collins, died suddenly Oct. 30. His family was at his bedside. Ed was a world-traveler, scholar, and a gentleman whose love of life was only exceeded by his love of family. He was living proof of the Mark Twain quote, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” He traveled to over 60 countries in the world, and was a friend to everyone he met. Ed was born April 14, 1930, in Waterbury, Conn., the fourth child of Lithuanian immigrants Constantine and Barbara Jakubauskas and was the beloved big brother to Ann and kid brother to Constantine Jr., Alphonse, and Anthony. Ed grew up during the Great Depression. As a boy, he was an air raid warden during WWII. In school, he excelled in academics, track, and drama. After graduating from Crosby High School with honors, he went on to earn his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Connecticut. After graduate school, he was drafted into the US Army in 1954 and sent to Germany as part of the Army of the Occupation. There he spent two years in Stuttgart teaching soldiers. During this time he discovered his passion for travel and became fluent in German, his third language after Lithuanian and English. He returned to the U.S. and worked as an economist with the Federal Power Commission and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C. He then decided to pursue a doctorate in economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the process adding his fourth language, Russian. While a graduate student at the university, he met a vivacious young public health nurse who stole his heart. Ed and Ruth Carolyn Friz were married on Aug. 29, 1959 in Madison. Ed finished his PhD two years later and they soon welcomed daughters Caroline and Marilyn into their family. After a year teaching at the University of Wisconsin, Ed and family moved to Ames, Iowa where Ed became an assistant professor of economics, and sons Mark and Eric soon joined the family. At Iowa State, Ed moved rapidly up the academic ranks, becoming a full professor within five years and was the director of the Industrial Relations Center. In the 1970s, the family moved to Laramie, Wyoming where Ed became Dean of the College of Commerce and Industry at the University of Wyoming, and later, Vice President for Academic Affairs at UW. From 1979-1988 he was President of State University of New York in Geneseo, New York, where he turned a small, struggling teachers college into a nationally-ranked, highly selective liberal arts college. He served as President of Central Michigan University from 1988-1991, when he and Ruth retired to Fort Collins, Colorado. Since retirement, he had been involved in numerous consulting appointments in the US and overseas (Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Bermuda, Brazil, and many other countries). He was proudest of his work in Lithuania, starting while he was a college president, developing exchanges between Poland and the US, and later teaching in Lithuania at the Universities of Vilnius, Kaunas, Siauliai, Klaipeda, and the Lithuanian Christian College. He was awarded two Fulbright Fellowships to teach at the universities in Lithuania and Latvia. His was a retirement in name only. In addition to his overseas travel and work, he was very active in the Fort Collins community, serving on the Transportation Board, Library Board, Senior Advisory Board, Hospital Board, and was the president of the local Fulbright Association chapter and the local Friendship Force Chapter. He was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church. He was a born teacher, teaching math in the US Army, economics as a professor, and later, his Fulbright teaching fellowships in Lithuania and Latvia. He especially loved teaching with Front Range Forum in Fort Collins, teaching classes in such topics as foreign policy, Russian literature, and the “Arab Spring.” Ed was a supporter of the arts, particularly theatre and classical music. In Fort Collins, he enjoyed Bas Bleu and the Open Stage Theatre. Ed loved spending time with friends and family and was a master storyteller to his children and grandchildren, weaving tales of his childhood, Army life, and his immigrant father’s experiences. He was an excellent listener, with a wonderful sense of humor. We all leaned on his wisdom, his honesty, his kindness, and acceptance of everyone he met. As a friend said, “He was a class act.” Ed always said “Live life to the fullest extent, and think of it as an adventure every day of the year.” His legacy lives on in his children: Caroline Marwitz (Curtis); Marilyn Edwards (Bob); Mark (Sara Taliaferro); and Eric (Kelsey); his grandchildren: Adam (Katie), Benjamin (Sarah), and Alex Marwitz; Ashlee and Jack Edwards; Allison and Cecelia Jakubauskas; Christian, Ana, Eve, Zachary, and Asen Jakubauskas: and great-grandchildren: Annabelle and Micah Marwitz. He will be greatly missed by his kid sister Ann Anastasio and her husband George, whom he introduced to each other. Though saddened by our loss, we know that Ed is at peace with Ruth, and we cherish our memories of him. A celebration of life service will be held Monday, Nov. 4, at 2:00 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational UCC, 916 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to the Fort Collins Senior Center (classroom expansion fund), 1200 Raintree Drive, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526.

Edward Benedict Jakubauskas PhD

April 14, 1930 - October 30, 2013