Anthony Vytautas Galdikas

1949 - 2015

Anthony Vytautas Galdikas was born on July 26, 1949 in Noranda, Quebec, Canada. He was the second of four children of Antanas and Filomena Galdikas, Lithuanian refugees having recently arrived from Wiesbaden, Germany where at World War II's end they and many others had temporarily relocated. Tony passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at his Vancouver apartment on June 26, 2013. His ulcer hemorrhaged in his sleep. He was preceded in death by his brother, Algirdas Galdikas and his parents Antanas and Filomena Galdikas.

Tony is survived by his two sisters, Birute Galdikas, and Aldona Galdikas-Franz, Birute's husband, Pak Bohap, and children: Binti Brindamour(and his three children), Fred Galdikas and Jane Galdikas. Aldona's children are: Bill Franz (wife Jenny), Derek Franz, Robert Franz, and Margaret Franz. Tony has cousins in Australia and Lithuania.

During Tony's formative years the family travelled west across Canada immigrating to the U.S eventually reaching family in Los Angeles. Tony had a passion for electronics and music. He had worked repairing electronics in his youth. He loved to tinker with old record players, TV's and radios then listen to old LP's on the repaired record players. He loved adventure especially motorcycles and fast cars. He had a brilliant mind, was curious, and liked to read but, like some people with genius IQ's, never came to terms with his own brilliance and was touched by the flame of mental illness.

The Galdikas family would like to thank the staff of the Portland Hotel Society in Vancouver, B. C. for their nurturing and loving care of Tony for so many years.

Thank you to the Canadian government and its publically funded health care system for being there to provide for Tony for the last two decades of his life. Tony has been interred with family at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA.

Tony, we will remember you for your intelligence, your good nature, your happy go lucky ways and youthful hope. Because of our love for you we will commit to help to educate and to inform the public about mental illness through NAMI. (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill).