Petr Vasak

The Lord has called Petr Blazej Vasak home on January 5, 2024 at 83 years of age, surrounded by his wife of 60 years, and only daughter. Petr passed peacefully at Avista Adventist hospital in Louisville, Colorado after a sudden, unexpected onset of illness resulting in diagnosis of small cell carcinoma, only a few days prior.
Born to Vaclav and Ana Vasak in Prague, Czech Republic, November 20, 1940. Petr is preceded in death by his parents and brother Josef. He is survived by his loving wife; Jana Vasak; devoted daughter: Lucia Vasak deCordre; endeared son-in-law Kevin deCordre; and beloved granddaughter Marina deCordre. He is also survived by cousins, nieces and nephews, and many wonderful friends.
Petr will be missed immensely and fondly remembered. His fundamental beliefs in God, family, country, peace, freedom, pursuit of happiness, and hope resonated with many. Full of life and vigor until the end, he was our wise "go-to" when life was rough and when we needed clarity. Hard working, practical and dedicated, Petr was always someone we could count on to provide wisdom and honest advice rather than placation. He left an indelible impression on those who called him husband, father, grandfather, friend. Through his life's trials and experiences, Petr gained a love of life and a firm understanding of what was important. He valued truth and simplicity and his conviction and reverence was that the final decision was always with God the Father. Petr's great love of history and truth drove him to be very well read and versed on so many topics and he loved and encouraged discussion. His expanse of knowledge was most impressive and one could always count on him to make great conversation.
The tapestry of Petr's rich and eventful life was clear in his thoughts and motivation. He spent his youth and early adulthood under the deep oppressions of a communist regime that he despised. During his mandated term of service in the soviet military, he met and married his "sweetie pie", Jana in 1964. While serving, he worked for the Czech Airlines and, on his days off, Petr lead a team of friends in an unprecedented effort (under communism) to secure and build a modern apartment building in Prague in exchange for an apartment for his young family. Always pushing for more freedom, Petr was instrumental, along with other hopefuls, in bringing about the political revolt of the "Prague Spring" of 1968 to restore civil rights, freedom of speech and abolishment of censorship. But it was short lived and Petr set his mind on breaking out of the soviet regime with his young family, leaving all that they had worked for, along with their possessions, to escape and seek freedom. With a wife, child and one suit case, Petr fled to America to seek a better life.
Strong determination, hard work, college at night, fortitude and belief in a mighty God drove Petr to succeed in a new life of freedom, becoming a proud US citizen, free to vote, think, worship, to own property, and to pursue happiness. He valued freedom to great extents and stood behind all of the political and social efforts to keep the ethic of the constitution in America. He joined the fraternal order of the Eagles and denounced any communist connections to authorities. He always supported those who fought to keep the United States a vision of freedom for those who work hard. Petr's work ethic and his strengths in engineering and electronics lead him to his career with Bell Laboratories, a position he truly enjoyed and on the forefront of computer hardware, lab testing microchips.
Petr was fun loving, too, he loved to laugh, delighted in children, was an avid biker, skier, and world wide traveler. He was most passionate, however, about fishing and took all opportunities to do so in Colorado and Wyoming and continued this sport through 2023. He valued the beauty of the National Parks and visited many, loved and respected wildlife, and spent much time with his family exploring the mountains of Colorado. Petr's permanent residence was in Colorado where he enjoyed a very active retirement life with his wife and attended St.Anne's Shrine. He enjoyed a second home and many friends during winter months in the beautiful desert of southern California.
We will forever keep our loving husband and dear father, grandfather, father in law and friend, Petr, in our hearts and thoughts until we will see him again in Glory. Petr's family wishes to convey a heartfelt thank you to our family and friends for their prayers, assistance and kind words.
A private, family scattering of ashes will be held at a later date.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in Petr's memory be made to his long supported charities:
Disabled American Veterans
DAV.org - Disabled American Veterans Charity
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/Cancer Research
www.stjude.org