In Memory
Karl Habijanac, Jr. 64
Karl Habijanac, Jr. 64, of Apache Junction, went home to be with the Lord on May 25, 2007.
He was born Sept. 30, 1942 in South Bend, Ind. He has resided in Arizona for the past 18 years.
He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving from September 1961-65.
Mr. Habijanac was self-employed after retiring from the woodworking business and the St. Joseph County Police Department in Indiana.
He is survived by his wife, Marcia; son, Jeffery K. Habijanac; daughter, Kim (Chris) Davis, daughter-in-law, Carol; sister, Kathryn of Indiana and three grandchildren whom he loved and cherished – Brooke Habijanac, Thomas Davis and Katie Davis.
He fought a good fight and finished the race and remained faithful. He will be dearly missed.
Published in NewsZapAZ on June 5, 2007
05.04.18 JackC
SOUTH BEND - Karl Habijanac Jr., 64, of Apache Junction, AZ, died Friday in Banner-Baywood Medical Center, Mesa, AZ. Survivors include his wife, Marcia (Anderson); daughter, Kim Davis of Apache Junction; son, Jeffrey K. Habijanac of California; sister, Kathryn Brown of Nashville. Services will be at 4 p.m. today in Mountain View Memorial Funeral Home, Mesa. Hanley & Sons Funeral Home handled local announcement.
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/southbendtribune/obituary.aspx?n=karl-habijanac&pid=88451941
Carolynn Thomas (Miller) (1961)
Karl was a childhood friend of mine, as well as my brother Larry. We went to Lincoln together, as well as Riley. He also became a friend of my late husband (a SBPD officer). Ironically, I was just thinking of him the other day during some traveling through S/B and then when we got home today, I see this notice of his passing. Such a shame. Karl was such a great guy and I am truly saddened to hear of his passing. May God bless the Habijanac family.
Respectfully, Karolynn Thomas Miller
Jim Champaigne (Admin) (1961)
Karl was a character. He bought and sold so many cars as a teenager, that the motor bureau said he may have to have a license to sell cars. He did have a 1949 Lincoln convert. The Hot Rod Lincoln. Also a beautiful 1955 Olds and of course his mother's 1955 Studebake Presidential Coup. A real black beauty.
I think Karl had over 21 cars, but never more than one at a time.
His mother made big batches of Kifli treats.jpg)
at Christmas time.
His dad worked at Oliver in South Bend as a painter. He sat on the back porch and smoked cigarettes all day long after retirement.
Jim Champaigne (Admin) (1961)
Studebaker introduced a new model on the President V8 hardtop chassis in mid model run 1955. It was a considerably gussied up version having all leather upholstery and came standard with lots of options/accessories that were normally extra cost. They called it a President Speedster and it came in a variety of new color and trim combinations. One even featured a tri-color scheme. They were, some thought, quite “outrageous” but it was keeping with the mid 50s era of glitz and color. At a price of $3179 it was by far the most expensive car in the line-up and while 2215 were built many were still in dealer and zone stock well into the 1956 model year. Today it along with the 1956 and 1957 Golden Hawks are at the top of the heap insofar as auction results for post WWII Studebakers. I am including a photo here of five South Bend residents who stepped up to the plate and did their part in aiding the local economy by purchasing a new Speedster. I am including the caption in a separate image for ease of reading. Maybe someone you knew? This photo appeared in the dealer newspaper THE STUDEBAKER NEWS a copy of which I am running now on ebay. I am also including a few color images to give you the “fulleffect”!