Silins - Peteris M.
SILINS, Peteris M. Age 75
Passed away November 5, 2005 in Crawfordsville, IN. Memorial
services will be held at the Kalamazoo Latvian Heritage Center on
November 25 at 2:00 p.m. Silins was born April 27, 1930 in
Leningrad and grew up in Latvia. Along with his family, he fled
to a displaced persons camp in Ansbach, Germany during World War
II. Afterward, the Bethany Reformed Church of Kalamazoo sponsored
the four refugees, allowing them to immigrate to the U.S. He
married Regina Berzins (who preceded him in death in 2002) in
1954. Silins was admitted to Michigan State University, despite
never having attended high school. After graduation, he briefly
worked as an engineer for the Checker Cab Company. He received a
Masters Degree from Indiana University in Bloomington, and then
embarked on a 37 year career at Wabash College in Crawfordsville,
IN, as a professor of German and Russian. He continued graduate
studies at Middlebury College in Vermont. As a two-time Fulbright
Scholar, Silins studied at the University of Mainz and the Goethe
Institute in Germany. During the Korean Conflict, he served in
the U.S. Army Intelligence as an interpreter and linguist. In the
Reserves, he taught Russian at the Army Language School in
Monterrey, CA. Silins was a member of the American Associations
of Teachers of German and Teachers of Slavic and East European
Languages, Delta Phi Alpha (honorary German language society),
and Phi Gamma Delta, and the Latvian Centers in Kalamazoo and
Indianapolis. He served as dean of students for the summer high
school at the Latvian Center Garezers in Three Rivers, MI. Silins
was named an honorary alumnus of Wabash College in 1992 before
retiring in 1995. Together with his colleague, Dick Strawn, he
translated Rimsky-Korsakov's "Night before Christmas," which was
performed by the Indiana University and San Francisco Opera
Companies. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Renate
Silins and Rob Norrell; son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Becky
Si!
lins; sister-in-law, Vanda Zakis, and her husband, Robert; nephew, Mik (Laimonis) Zakis; sister-in-law, Zeltite Berzins; and many relatives and friends in the U.S., Latvia, and Australia. Memorial contributions may be made to: Latvian Center Garezers, 57732 Lone Tree Road, Three Rivers, Michigan 49093 or The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County, 1104 Big Four Arch Road, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933
Published in the Kalamazoo Gazette on 11/17/2005.
lins; sister-in-law, Vanda Zakis, and her husband, Robert; nephew, Mik (Laimonis) Zakis; sister-in-law, Zeltite Berzins; and many relatives and friends in the U.S., Latvia, and Australia. Memorial contributions may be made to: Latvian Center Garezers, 57732 Lone Tree Road, Three Rivers, Michigan 49093 or The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County, 1104 Big Four Arch Road, Crawfordsville, Indiana 47933
Published in the Kalamazoo Gazette on 11/17/2005.