Vytautas Victor Lapatinkas

When a man as accomplished, vibrant, and passionate as Vytautas Victor Lapatinskas is in the world, you think he will live forever. On March 24, 2026 in Walla Walla, WA, at the age of 99 years and 11 months his big heart beat no more.

Victor was born in Varniai, Lithuania on April 23, 1926 to Pranas and Jadvyga Lapatinskas. His early years were spent with his grandmother while his parents finished their professional degrees. His childhood was marked by war as first the Soviets and then the Nazis invaded Lithuania. He painfully recalled watching his friends and neighbors shipped to the Gulag and concentration camps. To protect his homeland he joined the Forest Brothers to engage in guerrilla warfare. Fearing the imminent return of the Soviets, his family fled west in 1944, hoping to meet each other again in Allied territory.

His post-war years were spent in displaced persons camps near Hamburg, Germany. There he met his future wife, Alice Gerkyte and began his university studies. In 1949 he, along with his parents and sister Grazina, were afforded the opportunity to emigrate to the United States. Settling in Chicago he married Alice and finished his degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champagne. A daughter, Dalia, was born in 1953. A career opportunity with the Boeing Company brought the family to Seattle in 1961 where he resided until December 2025. At Boeing he began in the Minuteman program and retired as Chief of Airport Planning 35 years later.

Retirement offered him the opportunity to launch his second career. A passionate champion of independence for Lithuania during the occupation years, he helped establish The Lithuanian Foundation, The Lithuanian Community of Washington, and The Baltic Studies program at the University of Washington. He proudly served more than twenty years as the honorary Consul for Lithuania in Seattle. For all of his work in support of Lithuania he received numerous awards including the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy in 2021.

Victor was an avid outdoorsman, skiing in the winter and camping and mountain climbing in the summer. Among his many achievements he summited Mt. Rainier three times and skied with his best friends Tony Minelga and Vidmantas Raisys until all three were well into their 80's. He was a voracious reader, reading multiple newspapers daily and eagerly awaited his weekly issue of The Economist. He followed politics closely and watched in horror as his beloved United States, which gave him so much, was swinging towards fascism.

The deaths of his wife Alice (1993) and only grandchild Lucas Hagan (2007) left deep scars but he didn't dwell in the past. Most of all, Victor was a people person. He was compassionate and could "charm the thorns off any rose. " His ready smile, warm greeting, and undivided attention helped him develop deep friendships all around the world. He never missed a party or an opportunity for a glass of scotch.

He is mourned by his daughter Dalia and her husband Barlow Corkrum, niece Dana Mikenas, nephew Povilas Varnaitis and their families, as well as countless friends and colleagues. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, and grandson. Memorial donations may be made to the Seattle Lithuanian Community, The Lithuanian Foundation, or the National Democratic Party. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Corkrum home in Walla Walla on April 25th.