IVAN STANCIOFF

1929 - 2021

STANCIOFF Ivan Nicholas Stancioff "Johnny" Ivan Stancioff died peacefully at Dunlugas in Scotland on the November 24, 2021. He was born in Sofia, Bulgaria on April 1, 1929. Johnny was the third of seven children. His father, Ivan Stancioff, was a diplomat and his grandfather, Dimitri Stancioff, was Foreign Minister and Prime Minister of Bulgaria. His mother, Carolyn Marion Stancioff (née Mitchell) was an American writer and artist. In 1942, during the Second World War, Johnny's mother left Bulgaria with her seven children and moved to Switzerland, where Johnny attended the Lycée Villa St. Jean in Fribourg. In 1946, reunited with their father, the family moved to the United States, where Johnny attended Portsmouth Priory as a graduate student. In 1947 the family bought a farm in Urbana, Maryland where Johnny and his siblings painstakingly renovated an historic 18th century house. He paid his way through Georgetown University (1951) selling eggs in Washington, DC while tending bar at Tehan's in Georgetown. Following his service in the US Army (1952-1954) he worked for IBM in New York, Brazil, and Paris. After presiding as International Vice President for ITEL Corp. and Storage Technology Corp., in London, he established his own IT Company - Cresta Marketing S.A. in 1980. In 1990 Johnny returned to Bulgaria following Eastern Europe's political and economic reforms and, in 1991, was appointed Bulgarian Ambassador to Britain's Court of St. James and the first Bulgarian Ambassador to the Irish Republic. In 1994 he was appointed Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs. His fluency in Bulgarian, English, French, Greek, Italian, German, Spanish and Portuguese was an obvious asset. In 1996 he founded Karin Dom, converting the Stancioff family property in Varna into an educational and developmental center for children with special needs. Karin Dom is now held in high regard internationally. It offers training and support for staff of other such schools in the region. His efforts yielded endorsement from the Soros Foundation and the European Union, among others. He was instrumental in the founding of Bulgarian Schools internationally, and the Bulgarian School in London bears his name. He also established the UK Charity Friends of Bulgaria to conduct philanthropic work in England. He was a board member of AUBG, the American University at Blagoevgrad, and was a member of many corporate and philanthropic boards. Johnny had irrepressible drive, energy, enthusiasm and love for life. He inspired everyone by his actions and by his words. A creative gardener, he built a "Mogul" garden at Dunlugas. He is survived by his wife Alexandra; his sons Nicholas and Sean; daughters Teresa and Feodora and seven grandchildren; as well as his sister Nadejda Stancioff of Rome, Italy and his brother Andrew Stancioff of Spruce Head, Maine. He is predeceased by his brothers Dimitri and Peter and his sisters Anne and Feodora. A mass will be offered on Friday December 3 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Roman Catholic Church, Sandhill Road, BANFF, AB45 1 BE. In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations to the Karin Dom Foundation, Sveti Nikola, P.O. Box 104, Varna 9010, Bulgaria. For further information please contact Andrew Stancioff at: caperayfault@gmail.comcaperayfault@gmail.com