Julius Stephen Kovacs was born on August 20,1928 to Helen Wargo and Stephen Kovacs in Trenton, New Jersey. His father, Stephen, was born on October 19,1905 in the US, moved to Nagy Boszva, Hungary shortly thereafter, and then left Hungary for the U.S. at the age of 17, where he lived in a boarding house until he married Helen Wargo on September 23, 1927. Julius’s father worked at Roebling and enjoyed hunting. Julius’s mother was born in Trenton, NJ on December 16, 1907, and was an avid gardener and enjoyed propagating plants. Julius was the eldest of four siblings. His brothers William and Joseph were born in 1930 and 1949, respectively, and his sister Bertha was born in 1938. As a boy, Jules enjoyed reading, consistently writing in his diary rarely missing a day up until he passed away. He worked on the Wargo farm during the summers where he enjoyed watching the birds and insects skitter out of the way while driving the tractor across the fields. Upon graduation from high school, he attended Lehigh University earning a bachelor’s degree in physics. He earned his Ph.D. from Indiana University, specializing in theoretical physics. It was at IU that Jules met his future wife, Kay Jinks. They were married on August 12, 1956, and moved to East Lansing, Michigan where Julius accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Physics at Michigan State University. His daughter Julia Ann was born in March 1959, and Susan Elizabeth in August 1961. He served as director of the graduate program (1965-1999), and Chair (1979-1980) of the MSU Physics department. He was dedicated to MSU physics students serving as Associate Chair of both Graduate and Undergraduate studies (1976-1999). Even after retirement in 1999 Jules continued to show this dedication by working to improve the department tracking of student alumni and creating databases that made it easier to access data electronically. Following his retirement, Jules enjoyed getting together with his former colleagues and friends on campus. Jules was an avid birdwatcher, and enjoyed keeping meticulous records of baseball statistics, sunrise and sunset times, and local weather. He enjoyed driving out west during the summers, following the path taken by Lewis and Clark, camping and hiking. He was passionate about visiting National Parks and Civil War battlefields and traveled to every US state. On occasion he would spend a summer in Aspen, CO working at the Physics Institute. Jules was a compassionate, witty, intelligent, and joyful person.
Julius is survived by his daughters Susan VonDreele and Dr. Julia Kovacs, and his brother Joseph Kovacs, as well as five grandchildren –Stephen (Jenna) VonDreele, Julia VonDreele, Kiley (Cole) Skorka, Eric Shoner, and Anna Shoner– and four great-grandchildren– Maddison, Luke, and McKinley Skorka, and Brooklyn VonDreele. He was pre-deceased by his wife Kay, parents, his sister Bertha and brother William. A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date. Please check back for updated service information.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.greastlansing.com for the Kovacs family.
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