Ivica "Ivo" Tvrtkovic

Ivica Tvrtkovic, Poet

Ivica (ivo) Tvrtkovic, age 70, passed away on Monday, January 22, 2023 in his home in Kinsley, Kansas. He was born on July 25, 1952 in Bugojno, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was the son of Josefina Knezevic and Marko Tvrtkovic, a descendant of medieval royal linage. Ivo was Croatian and a devote Roman Catholic.

He graduated from the University of Zagreb in Croatia in 1978 with a degree in philosophy and history. He became a teacher with the title of professor and a published poet.

On July 20, 1993, during the Bosnian War, Ivo was arrested and held for seven days. He was interrogated, used as a human shield, stood before firing squads, and other traumas during this time.

He had to leave Bosnia in 1996 and went to work as a laborer in Croatia for subsistent wages.

In 1997, he registered with the United States Refugee Resettlement Office where he was told to return to Bosnia. He became a librarian, but it was still unsafe for him live there.

In June, 1999, Ivo received word that he would be going to the United States. He arrived in Dodge City on November 24, 1999 where he was met by Borislav Peranovic and Father William of St. Nicholas Catholic Church of Kinsley.

The parishioners of St. Nicholas and the Methodist Church of Kinsley worked together to set Ivo up for his new life in America. He worked for Midway Manufacturing for nine years until he became disabled.

Ivo was very proud when he became a United States citizen in Wichita on July 24, 2009.

Preceding Ivo in death were his mother, father, and sister Nada in Bosnia.

He is survived by his sister Zelijka and four nieces in Serbia.

He will be remembered as the man on the big tricycle with the suitcase full of treats for everyone he met.

Memorial service will held at St. Nicolas Church in Kinsley where he was a member, on Saturday February 11, 2023 at 1:00 PM . His ashes will be returned to Bosnia (Croatia).

The Poet

By Ivica Tvrtkovic

Translated by Sibelan Forrester

The poet seeks for nothing

He pleads with mercilessness for mercy

He pleads with lastingness for a drop of life eternal

So he might remain in eternity.

Yes, that is a poet!