Zoran Kilibarda was born July 24, 1957, to Gojko and Natalija Kilibarda in Nikšić, Montenegro, where he was raised. After high school, he attended the University of Belgrade, Serbia, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geography and his Master of Science in Geomorphology. In 1982, he married Vesna Milović, a mathematician, with whom he had two children, Ivana and Nikola. In 1988, with his family, he moved to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1994. From there, his family moved to Juneau, Alaska, where Zoran taught at the University of Alaska Southeast.

In 1999, his family moved to Valparaiso, Indiana, where for over twenty years, Zoran taught at Indiana University Northwest. He became Full Professor of Geology, received a Fulbright Fellowship to Montenegro in 2013, and was awarded many teaching awards, including the IU President’s Award for Teaching in 2015. Throughout his professional career, Zoran was a mentor and inspiration to his students, many of whom have gone on to achieve significant accomplishments in research and teaching in geology themselves.

As a distinguished geologist specializing in the fields of Geomorphology and Sedimentology, Zoran delivered many papers at professional meetings and published his work in journals in both the U.S. and Europe. Zoran was proud of his research, which included publications in Geomorphology and Sedimentology of Lake Michigan Coastal Dunes and Indiana’s inland dunes, Carbonate Sedimentology of Southern Adriatic Carbonate Platform, and Sedimentology of Adriatic Flysch, as well as research on unconformities, eolian carbonates, karst, and paleokarst. His love of geology, research, and writing mirrored his love of nature and preservation of the earth.

In addition to doing field research there, he spent many summers in Montenegro, relaxing with his family and friends. From his youth, he loved puzzles and games, particularly chess, where he achieved the rank of National Master, as well as both Nebraska and Alaska State Champion. In Alaska, he combined his love for teaching and chess by starting and leading a youth chess club for five years, traveling throughout the state with his students. Zoran also enjoyed watching many sports, intensely cheering for athletes from Yugoslavia. He loved the camaraderie that came from participating in sports, and he played intramural volleyball and soccer throughout his life. At home in Valparaiso, he also loved tending to his garden, in which he took great pride, as he regularly sent pictures of his harvests to his children.

Zoran was particularly beloved for his wonderful storytelling and sharp sense of humor, which he maintained until the end of his life. He was looking forward to retiring to Colorado with his wife of 42 years to be close to his children and grandchildren, whom he cherished and visited every chance he had. In addition to his wife Vesna and his children Ivana and Nikola, he is survived by his brother Mitar, sister Sonja, son-in-law Wayne, daughter-in-law Kelly, granddaughters Lany and Mila, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws. And he remains in the loving memory of his dear friends throughout the world.

Please join the family in remembering Zoran on Saturday, November 9, 2024. Funeral Services will begin at 10AM at the Calumet Park Funeral Chapel, 7535 Taft St., Merrillville, IN  46410, following by a visitation until 12 noon. V. Rev. Aleksandar Novakovic will officiate. For further information about the service please call Mileva Savich at 219-736-5840. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: National Park Foundation, https://www.nationalparks.org