This memorial website is dedicated to the best of uncles, Peter Polakovic, who passed away suddenly on September 28, 2015. I invite his friends to share their memories of him here. Every little detail of his life is precious to me and my family.

Peter was born in the small town of Puchov in western Slovakia, where his father Viktor worked as a clerk at the railway station. His mother Kveta was from Moravia (Czech Republic), which made Peter a "Czechoslovak" at heart. The family soon moved to Bratislava, now the capital of Slovakia, where they lived in a small apartment near the main railway station. Around the time of Peter's birth, his father was diagnosed with diabetes (presumably type 1) and died when Peter was only twelve, which must have cast a shadow over his childhood. Peter's and his older brother Milan's happiest memories were of summer vacations with their grandparents in Moravia.

According to family stories, Peter was mischievous, lovable, bright, and adventurous from the start. He was a teenager during the 1960s temporary "thaw" of the totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia, when western influences, especially music, film, and fashion, began to seep into the local pop culture. Peter's love of films and his high standards for their quality was influenced by the Czechoslovak "New Wave" cinema from this period that produced masterpieces such as "Closely Watched Trains." It was probably this cultural revolution, along with his free spirit, that first led to Peter's fascination with the United States.

Around the age of twenty, he packed a small suitcase full of dictionaries and clandestinely crossed the border into Austria. He ended up in a refugee camp near Naples, Italy, where, undeterred by rough conditions and lack of money, he embarked on a series of wild adventures that eventually led him to Chicago, Los Angeles, and Dallas. While he was still learning English, one of his first jobs was washing dishes in a restaurant, which may be one of the reasons why he was, later in life, always sympathetic to and beloved by restaurant staff, whether in the restaurants that he and his business partner owned in Dallas, or at the ones where he loved to dine. In Los Angeles, he married Yvonne, earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from California State University, and enjoyed the beaches and hiking. Following their divorce in 1978, he moved to Dallas, Texas. After his restaurant business failed, he worked as an IT specialist.

Once Peter obtained his U.S. citizenship, he periodically visited his brother's family in Bratislava and was always a part of it as much as the long distance allowed, overcoming both bureaucratic hurdles and financial constraints. Milan visited him in 1982, and returned with me (aged eleven) for an unforgettable, epic "grand tour" of the U.S. that included major national parks and Hawaii in 1984.

Peter was always full of surprises, and his sudden death of pulmonary embolism was the final one. I am very grateful to Norma for her loving presence at his hospital bedside during the last hours of his life.

My uncle was the most generous person I have ever known and always did everything his way. It is some consolation to know that he had the freedom to practice generosity and mantain his independence until the end.

Since Peter's life was so full and there were so many wonderful people in it, I have created this website in order to encourage his friends to share their own stories of him.The "Stories" section is great for posting anecdotes and additional information. I also don't remember the details of Peter's early adventures in the U.S., especially in Chicago and LA, so if you can help out with that, I'd appreciate it. Feel free to write in English, Czech, or Slovak.

Katarina (Polakovic) Gephardt