Igor Vojtech Nabelek

NABELEK, IGOR VOJTECH - died at age 87 on February, 18th, 2012. Igor was born on August 19th, 1924 in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia. He was preceded in death by his parents Elena and Ludvik Nabelek, his first wife Klara Joosova, the mother of his two sons John and Peter, and by his two brothers, Ludvik and Ivan. He is survived by his wife, Anna; his sons and their spouses, and grandsons, Marc, Patrik, Daniel, and Thomas. While he was a college student, Igor participated in the Slovak National Uprising against the German Army during World Word II and for some time was a prisoner of war. He received his Ph.D. degree from the Technical University in Prague. Subsequently he worked in the Physics Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. He married his second wife Anna Karczewska, his professional colleague, in 1966. In 1967 he was invited to be a visiting scholar at the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis where he was joined by Anna. His two sons were held hostage in Czechoslovakia by communist authorities until after the Warsaw Pact invasion of the country in 1968. In 1970 he became a research professor at the University of Maryland. In 1973, he and Anna moved to Knoxville, which became their home and is the place where they became United States citizens. Igor was a professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology at the University of Tennessee until his retirement fifteen years ago. He was an author of many scientific papers and textbook chapters and his contributions were recognized by fellowships in the Acoustical Society of America and other professional societies. He was active in the emigrant Czechoslovak Society of Science and Art of which he was a president for a period of time. He fostered scientific exchanges between the University of Tennessee and the Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Igor was a member of local Catholic parishes. He was a benefactor toward building of the St. John Neumann Church and School. He also was a member and a president of the Knoxville Kiwanis Club. Igor was an avid skier and for several years was a member of the ski patrol at Sugar Mountain, North Carolina, and of two Knoxville ski clubs. Memorial Mass for Igor will be held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on March 3rd, 2012, at 2:00 PM, with reception to follow. He will be buried in the family grave in his place of birth in Slovakia. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: Sacred Heart Cathedral School, 1711 Northshore Drive, Knoxville, TN 37919. Please sign Mr. Nabelek's online register book at highlandmemorialparks.com. Highland Memorial Funeral Home: 865-588-0567