Stipe Dumančić, President of the Croatian Radio Club New York, buried in New York

Stipe Dumančić (Photo: Croatian Radio Club New York)

by Srecko Mavrek

Stipe Dumančić, president of the Croatian Radio Club New York ‘Voice of Free Croatia’, was buried on Friday, January 7, at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Queens. He passed away on January 1, 2022 at the age of 84. 

A Holy Mass for Stipe was held in the Croatian Church of St. Cyril and Methodius in Manhattan. Stipe spent 44 years at the Croatian Radio Club working as its president, vice president, technical editor, treasurer, and member of the Supervisory Board. 

His life began in the small town of Lovrec in the Splitsko-Dalmatinska Županija. He spent his childhood in Croatia. After finishing school, he went to Germany, and then in 1975 he emigrated to New York. 

After arriving in New York, he became actively involved in the Croatian community. He volunteered at the Croatian Center and on Hrvatska Zemlja. He was also a member of the Children’s Festival. He became active in the Croatian Radio Club in 1977 when Vinko Kužina invited him as a technical editor. Since then, the Croatian Radio Club and studio have become his second home. 

(Photo: Croatian Radio Club New York)

During his many years of work at the Croatian Radio Club, he gained many friends who remember him with great respect and pride that they had  a chance to work with him for the benefit of the Croatian community. He was sent to his eternal rest with numerous honors and words of appreciation. Yesterday’s special emission of the Croatian Radio Hour was entirely dedicated to him and his dedicated work (https://www.croatianradiony.com/index).