News

by Algis Vaskevicius

"Draugas" - Lithuanian Wide-World News

5/8/2018

On April 16^th, Dr. Joseph Kazickas, the businessman and philanthropist would have celebrated his centennial. In honor of the jubilee, his unique personality and his devotion to Lithuania, have been reflected in the Kazickas Family Foundation’s celebrations held in Kaunas and Vilnius.

A memorial mass and a concert were held at St. Casimir’s Church in Vilnius. A day prior, Dr. Kazickas was also remembered at the Vaidilos theatre. Many diplomats and politicians were in attendance. Since Dr. Kazickas always supported young and talented Lithuanians, a total of 16 young performers and a seven-person ensemble, all coming from 10 different areas within Lithuania, played in the memorial concert. The program was presented by Birute Vizgirdiene. Jurate Kazickaite, the daughter of Dr. Kazickas, and the president of the Kazickas Family Foundation, came from the United States to attend the event. Founded 20 years ago, the foundation continues to work tirelessly to enhance efforts of many Lithuanian and other organizations around the world.

A special exhibition of Dr. Kazickas’ life was held at the Presidential Library of Valdas Adamkus. The curator of the library, Arunas Antanaitis stated, “The library is grateful to Dr. Kazickas, who initiated the idea and supported the library, as he was the main financial investor.” Jurate Kazickaite with a help from the foundation’s director Neila Baumiliene gathered photographs, texts and information that best depicted Dr. Kazickas’ life story.

The exhibition is in a chronological timeline, as J. Kazickaite wanted to show a strong personality that Dr. Kazickas had, and how it impacted those around him. Multiple rollup posters, and memorabilia in vitrines show Dr. Kazickas’s long life, his work and love for Lithuania. To this day, the Lithuanian public is unaware about many of his accomplishments. At the beginning of the opening of the exhibition, President Adamkus shared his memories about Dr. J. P. Kazickas hoping that his legacy will live on. J. Kazickaite remembered her father with kind and loving words.

“When you see how much this one person gave to Lithuania, it is astonishing to grasp all of it, especially knowing that Dr. Kazickas lived in Lithuania for only 20 years in between his return from Russia and the Soviet occupation,” - said A. Antanaitis.

Grandparents of Dr. Kazickas were supporters of the 1863 uprising in Lithuania, and so they were deported to Russia where Dr. Kazickas was born. With his return to Lithuania in 1922, Kazickas studied economics at Vytauto Didziojo Univeristy in Kaunas, and later in Vilnius University where he met his future wife Alexandra. In 1942 he received his diploma in economics and worked in the municipality of Vilnius. In 1944, Dr. Kazickas, his wife, and daughter Jurate escaped to Germany and eventually, in 1951, to the United States. Dr. Kazickas graduated from Yale with a doctorate in economics, later he proceeded to work as an assistant professor at Georgetown University, and as an advisor to numerous ministries within the US and Lithuania.

After leaving the educational field, Dr. Kazickas began to invest in coal, and oil. He founded numerous companies, immediately becoming a successful businessman. He soon came to be an advisor to many governments. He deeply cared about strengthening Lithuania’s independence. With his return to Lithuania in 1991 he founded the first telecommunication lines within the Baltic States formerly known as “Litcom.” Dr. Kazickas introduced many investors to Lithuania such as Philip Morris, Coca-Cola, Motorola, and Williams. With his wife Alexandra Kalvenaite, they lived together for 70 years, raised five children. Among many awards, in 1998 Dr. Kazickas was given the highest Medal of Honor in Lithuania.

In the midst of other expositions it is clear that Dr. Kazickas’s one is unique. In the opening speech of the exhibit, President Adamkus couldn’t have been more honored to talk about his long time friend’s legacy. Dr. Kazickas’ amazing personality brought him to achieve all that he did. He created a philanthropic legacy for not only himself but those around him. His actions and words went further than anyone’s ever imagined. Among other things, President Adamkus remembered how back in 1991 when the Independence act was being signed that Dr. Kazickas was in the US on the 9^th of March and dropped everything to be in the country he loved to support it in its Independence just two days later.

Many guests of the exhibition came to share a great deal of memories in regards to Dr. Kazickas. J. Kazickaite shared how important family was to Dr. Kazickas. The exhibition will make it to other parts of Lithuania so that Dr. Kazickas’ story can be shared and passed down for generations to come. Next stop - the National Martynas Mazvydas Library on the 15^th of June, 2018.