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Father Antanas Saulaitis offered the Mass with wonderful singing of Irena Milkeviciute (soprano), Egle Stundziaite (soprano) and VKC Lithuanian Radio and Televizion Children Choir led by Regina Maleckaite.

During the concert in memory of Dr. Joseph Kazickas and his 100th birthday anniversary that followed the Mass, guests enjoyed beautiful voices of Vytautas Juozapaitis (baritone), Egle Juozapaitiene (soprano), men choir "Ąžuolų klubas" led by Povilas Gylys, organ music by Leopoldas Digrys and Renata Marcinkute Lesieur and excerpts from autobiography "Odyssey of Hope" read by Dr. Joseph Kazickas from LRT archives.

“You are my most honorable guests today. Thank you for coming, ” – Dr. Juozas P. Kazickas would have said with the utmost sincere gratitude to all of us gathered here today. He was always eager to greet people, look straight into their eyes, shake hands, address each by name, or to introduce himself to those he never met.

His origins from humble beginnings, the whirlpool of historic events over his lifetime, and his experiences during his travels all over the world made Juozas Kazickas realize that he was entitled to nothing. Everything he had been ever given was a loan from God - life’s biggest gifts that he was privileged to cherish: his wife, Alexandra, his five children and eleven grandchildren, good health, and freedom, his friends all over the world, along with countless opportunities to work and do good.  

Gratitude was his everyday companion. He made it into a habit. Handwritten thank-you cards to his guests and friends; letters to his wife with detailed expressions of appreciation of her special character traits, especially her commitment to her children; invitations to international business partners and their families to spend time with his own family; joyful parties with a purpose to bind its members so they become inseparable long after he and his wife are gone; small lunches and big galas, small gifts and big donations –thanks in all shapes and forms was his conscious effort to make gratitude’s magical powers work in his life.

“Dėkoju Dievuliui” was part of Kazickas’s appreciation of walking on this earth. Saying grace at the dinner table and thanking the Lord for those everyday treasures was a daily practice that turned every meal into a feast, every meeting into a celebration, and every stranger into a friend. He made this Law of Attraction exercise work and became a benefactor of gratitude.

We commemorate the 100^th anniversary of Joseph Peter Kazickas who was born on April 16, 1918. He was blessed with an extraordinary life, which could have been enough for ten ordinary people. Kazickas was best known as a family man, a devoted  husband and father, an intellectual, a businessman, a patriot and a philanthropist. Kazickas also was a writer (for his letters to his beloved wife Alexandra, long and visionary speeches, and opinion articles in the Lithuanian American press), a passionate art lover and a patron of several Lithuanian artists (V. Kašuba, V. Kasiulis, V. K. Jonynas, V.Vildžiūnas), a devotee of classical music (a promoter of young musicians, choral and dance festivals), a champion of the Lithuanian language in print (books in the diaspora and independent Lithuania, school books, encyclopedias, religious works, to name a few), a supporter of technology (a founder of Omnitel and donor of hundreds of computer to Lithuanian public schools), a benefactor of Lithuanian charities (the Lithuanian Foundation, Lithuanian  Religious Aid, Lithuanian National Foundation)  and finally establishing his own philanthropic fund – the Kazickas Family Foundation 

But he made time to enjoy life, too, as an intrepid traveller (documenting his trips around the world in letters, photographs and films), a sportsman (hunting, skiing, golf) and a gardener (planting and nurturing a tropical garden of exquisite fruit species at his home on Cat Cay island in the Bahamas.)

We can only hope that one day Dr. Juozas. P. Kazickas will have his place in the Lithuanian modern history books, and there will be studies done on his life,  work and accomplishments.  He is a shining example for young people today to dream the impossible.

“Always reach for big goals,” he would say. “They’ll take just as much of your time as the small ones so why strive for less?” And  “The formula of success is to have a soft heart but a tough mind.”

And finally - “Life only has meaning when one is sharing good fortune with others and contributing to a better life for everyone.”

Not a day went by that he did not thank God for all the blessings of life. Juozas P. Kazickas was a man who mastered the divine powers of gratitude.

Let us remember him by giving thanks for all our own daily blessings and the most precious gift of all – life itself. 

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Neila Baumilienė

Kazickas Family Foundation Director, New York