Victor W. Zupancic

MEMORIES OF VIC Vic~~what a man! He was a loving, kind, caring, helpful, fixit, cruzin, onery, friend to all who knew him~~didn't know a stranger. He loved his two '48 Chevy rods and everything that came with owning them. His rods were his 'pride and joy (together with Pooh, Don, all the step-kids and grandkids, and his family and friends}. You rodders know the feeling of pride your 'babies' give you. His heaven here on earth was revin em up, spit shining em, tunin em up, the car shows, and cruzin with his buddies, and Don & Pooh. Vic LOVED good food!!! When we were cruzin, the rodders always knew to ask Vic and Donnie where the best places to eat were~~they knew. Vic loved all the fun we had in the parking lots of so many hotels. He sure sported lots of grins and onery comments at these gatherings. Had a beer in one hand and his toothpick in the other. Vic was a happy, content, and a life lovin camper most of the time. But . . . the 'I've got the world by the tail' smile on his face in this picture was not the smile I saw when I accidentally rammed both trucks thru the garage door. (without opening it)!!! That horrific accident was the event that confirmed to me that Vic loved his Pooh even more than his trucks. I begged him to scream at me, hit me, something (anything)~~but he remained calm and quietly asked that I give him some space and 5 minutes to recoup. Then he hugged me till I quit crying (3 days). With no repairs to his rainbow truck, he entered it in the Cinco de Mayo car show, with his sign 'Especially designed by Pooh' attached. He could not understand why I wouldn't accompany him to this event.. The joke was he came home with a two foot second place trophy. Vic loved all the 50's music played at the shows, but in his heart of hearts he loved his polkas best. He was just a proud um-pa-pa kinda guy. Vic was sooo proud of his Slovenian heritage and his family who taught him the language, the Slovenian traditions, the music, and the pride he wore as a Slovenian man. All this was an integral part of who Vic was. He so looked forward each year to the traditional pig/lamb roast held at the Preseren Home above Rye Mountain Park. We, family and friends, would go camp at Preseren for 2-3 days early to prepare this traditional picnic for 500+. The ethnic food, the fun, and enjoying all the smiles and friendships of the 500+ guests was awesome~~but the 2-3 days spent camping and preparing the food, staying up all night listening to polkas, drinking beer, and sharing all the great stories of 'good old times', fanning the BBQ smoke out of your eyes, were just so meaningful words can't convey the joy and reverence this event left in our hearts. After all, it wouldn't happen again till next year. The culmination of this event was when all the tired, red-eyed, smokey smellin BBQ chefs descended down the mountain, stripped off their smelly-smokey clothes and jumped into the freezin creek for their traditional skinny dippin bath. The Oktoberfest~~it wasn't a Slovenian event but those German Polkas were polkas, nonetheless. This was also an annual event Vic loved. His son Don, the Chief Chef at the Union Depot, had the responsibility of preparing German food for 2 nights and Sunday for about 20, 000 attendees. Up until several years ago, Don needed volunteers to prep food, like peelin 1, 500 lbs of potatoes , 100 lbs of onions, and at least 100 lbs of bacon for the German potato salad.. Dad jumped at the chance. Like at Preseren, the food prep was so fun. However, 3 entire days of um-pa-pa polkas made this a very special annual event, which we were blessed for many years to share with family and friends. I am trying to cut this short; but I would be remiss to not mention his other heaven here on earth~~his 2100 sq. ft. garage (a/k/a 'The Garage-ma-hol). His garage-ma-hal had all the comforts of home, refrigerator, TV, stereo (polkas), recliner, pantry, and his prized trucks. He seemed to use all his 50 year collection of tools and equipment. The grease on the wheel was the (3) 10 foot garage doors facing a very busy street. Friends, family, and many of you who may not even have known Vic's name (he was the guy on Prairie with the big garage) know how he used to open the garage doors so he could return your big honk and a wave. He just loved wavin back and hollering his ornery or friendly greeting. These honks, waves, and droppin in for a beer kept his spirits up on tough days. He also enjoyed hanging the large Oktoberfest banner on the garage so those who saw it could come and enjoy some polka music with him. I could go on and on about Vic, but this 'little' memory was to be submitted yesterday. Vic was a kind, caring, patient and loving man who loved life. He just didn't have time to hate those who hated him because he was too busy loving those who loved him~~most everybody. Few woman have been blessed with a man that loved them as much as Vic loved me. But admittedly, Vic was also ornery, a teaser, and loved to laugh. If you were blessed to have spent time with Vic, please share your stories with us on Guestbook. We will treasure them always! We love all of you~~Terri/Pooh ********* Victor W. Zupancic, 69, passed away Feb. 13, 2013. Survived by his wife of 25 years, Terri 'Pooh' Reinert-Zupancic; son, Don Zupancic; step-children, Chuck (Catherine) Reinert, Ed (Janette) Reinert, Cheryl (Dan) Nelson, Lisa Reinert; step-grandchildren, Amanda Duncan, Evan Reinert, Jayne Reinert, Hunter Reinert, Fisher Reinert, Kelsey Lack, Courtney Johnson, Kirston Dace, Daniel Dace; step-great-grandchildren, Jonathan Duncan, Connelly Duncan, Delaney Duncan, and Serenity Sanchez. Preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Mary Zupancic. Victor was born May 3, 1943, in Pueblo, Colo. He was a business owner and was a master electrician, working for numerous electrical contractors. He loved his wife, son, family and friends. Victor enjoyed hot rods and cruisin, traditional Preseren pig roasts, Slovenian events, good food, and time spent with family. He was a member of the 8th District Electrical Union, Electrical Union Local 12, IBEW, NEBF, Western Slovenian Assoc. (WSA), KSKJ, St. Joseph's Lodge, BOE 145, National Street Rod Assoc., and Preseren Glee Club. He was proud of his 1948 trucks, his Slovenian heritage, and his Union profession. Cremation, Montgomery & Steward Crematorium. Memorial Mass, 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, St. Mary Catholic Church, 307 E. Mesa, with Father Ben Bacino as celebrant. Following Mass, rodders are welcome to join us in one last cruise in of honor Vic. In lieu of food and flowers, memorials may be made to Preseren Glee Club through Montgomery & Steward Funeral Directors, 1317 N. Main St., Pueblo, CO 81003. For the complete notice and online condolences go to www.montgomerysteward.com