Ray Radoslav Suput passed peacefully on April 23rd, 2018 after a long and eventful life. Ray was born on May 13, 1922 in Columbus, Ohio to parents Elias and Darinka nee’ Balac Suput. Ray was raised by his maternal Aunt with his brother Vaso (Vasilije) in the Plitvice Lake region in the former Yugoslavia, now Croatia. As an expert in Serbo-Croatian and Italian languages, Ray served as an interpreter for the Allied Control Commission working with refugees in Italy during World War II. Ray married Mary Grace Hansen in 1954 in Evanston, IL. After being widowed, he married Milana Preradov in Columbus, Ohio in 1986. He received a BA from Ohio State University, an MS from Case Western Reserve University, a MA from the University of Chicago and his doctorate from Case Western Reserve University. Before retiring in 1987, Ray served in multiple roles at Ball State University, Muncie, IN, including Director of Libraries, Department Chair, and Professor. He was proud of his involvement in the design and building of Bracken Library to which he walked or rode his bike each day. Ray was an attentive parent. He was an avid fan of his son’s basketball games attending all home and away games. He and his daughter raised and regularly showed pigeons at the county and Indiana State Fairs. Ray retired to Columbus, Ohio where he was active in St. Stevens Church and the Columbus African Violet Flower Society and continued to ride his bike for many years. Ray moved to Somerville, Massachusetts three and a half years ago to live with his daughter and her family. He died at home.
Ray is preceded in death by this brother Vaso, his first wife Mary, and second wife Milana. He is survived by his son David Suput of Muncie, Indiana, Dorothy Suput, her husband Will Thalheimer, and his granddaughter Alena Thalput in Somerville, Massachusetts, his niece Tatjana Suput Raponja of Zagreb, Croatia and nephew Miodrag Suput of Beograd, Serbia, his step-son George Drazic, his wife Molly, and their three sons Alexander, Miles, and Evan who reside in Austin, TX.
Friends and family will meet for funeral service 10 am Saturday at St. Stevan-Dechani Serbian Church, 1840 Cassady Ave., Columbus, OH 43219. Burial Green Lawn Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to St. Stevan-Dechani Serbian Church.