Dr. Vasa Mihailovich, a former professor at the University of North Carolina, died this past Saturday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut.

Mihailovich taught Slavic languages and literature at UNC from 1961 until he retired in 1995. He lived in Chapel Hill for 46 years before moving to Connecticut to be closer to his son and grandchildren.

A native of Yugoslavia, Mihailovich escaped bombing raids and execution squads before fleeing to Italy at the end of World War II. He emigrated to the United States in 1951 after spending five years in displaced persons camps in Italy and Germany. He put himself through college at Wayne State University in Detroit by working on the assembly line at Chrysler. Upon graduation, he attended the University of California at Berkeley, where he earned a Master’s degree and a Ph.D.

Mihailovich was a distinguished poet and author of short stories. His passion, other than literature and his family, was UNC basketball.

He is survived by his sons, Draggan and Zoran, and seven grandchildren.

His wife Branka died in 2006.

Mihailovich will be buried at a graveside funeral service at Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery on Saturday at 10 a.m. He was 89.

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