Ihor Kamenetsky, 81, of Mt. Pleasant passed away Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at Central Michigan Community Hospital.

      A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 4, at St. Mary’s University Parish with Father Denis Heames presiding.  Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery.

      The family will receive friends at the church on Monday from 10 a.m. until the Mass begins.

      In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary’s University Parish.  Envelopes will be available at the church or at the Charles R. Lux Family Funeral Home, 2300 S. Lincoln Rd., Mt. Pleasant.

      Ihor was born Jan. 2, 1927 in Western Ukraine, the son of the late Julian and Angela Natalia (Strilciuk) Kamenetsky.  He fled Ukraine with his parents and siblings during WWII and  studied history at the University of Graz, Austria.  A scholarship brought him to Williams College in Massachusetts in 1949, where he subsequently received his B.A. degree in history in 1952. He continued his studies in political science at the University of Illinois, Urbana, receiving an M.A. degree in 1955 and a Ph.D. degree in 1957.

      He began his teaching career at CMU in 1957, the same year he married Christa Mueller, who later also taught at Central.

      He was Professor of Political Science at Central Michigan University for thirty-seven years, from 1957-1995. Besides teaching various courses in American Government, International Relations, International Development, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union, he published five scholarly books as well as numerous articles.

      With knowledge, tact, fairness, and consistency, Ihor taught and enlightened several thousand students at Central.  As a role model and a good friend, he maintained contacts with many of them over the years.  He was a warm hearted, kind, fair and compassionate person who cared deeply about individuals as well as human rights, democracy and freedom.  The Parkinson's Disease from which he suffered over the last decade sometimes threatened to obscure his smile, but those who knew him did not fail to perceive his inner radiance.