Joseph R. Kolar Jr.

Kolar, Joseph R., Jr.
Sep 26, 1938 - Aug 27, 2013

Joe was born in Chicago where he grew up enjoying scouts and baseball, and sang in the choir at First Presbyterian Church in Berwyn, Illinois. He played violin in the Berwyn Community Orchestra, and graduated from Morton High School there in 1956. He briefly attended the University of Illinois, leaving to enlist in the U.S. Army and serving at Fort Holabird in Maryland where he trained as a medic. After discharge from the Army, he attended Southern Illinois University where he attained a Ph.D. in microbiology. The degree led to a career in development of animal vaccines for both companion and farm animals which spanned most of the major vaccine companies in the Midwest. As an adult, Joe loved music, becoming a patron of symphony and opera, as well as being an avid fisherman and outdoorsman. He was an active and compassionate father, an excellent and supportive husband, an intelligent and funny companion, and a good and gentle man. He is survived by his wife, Carol; daughter, Ren; granddaughter, Gabbi; brother and sister-in-law, Dr. Ronald and Nancy Kolar of Illinois; special niece and family, Debra and Lachy Muir, Brynn, and Caitlin of Minnesota, and an extended family of close cousins. He will be missed. A private memorial gathering is planned.


This obituary was originally published in the Omaha World-Herald.