Pietro Paolo Antich's Obituary
Pietro (Peter) Paulo Antich passed away unexpectedly on April 5th, 2021, at the age of 82 following a heart attack. He was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia on May 27, 1938, to Kazimir Antich and Ivana Prpic. Peter grew up in Milan, Italy, after his family fled Yugoslavia following the Axis invasion in 1941. There he earned a D.Sc. in Physics from the University of Milan in 1966, before moving to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1971, where he met his wife, Miriam.
Peter took pride in the many accomplishments of his career, including his years at the University of Milan, the University of Pavia, CERN, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, and at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. At UT Southwestern, he was the Director of Advanced Radiological Sciences and was the Wechun Pak Professor of Bone Biophysics in the Department of Radiology. He held over twenty patents for improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of illness and evaluation of the efficacy of treatments, including for an ultrasound device to strengthen bone quality. He also guided, with generosity and care, numerous graduate students through the programs he chaired, in Radiological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering.
Even more important to Peter was his family. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Miriam; son, Max and wife, PingYing; daughter, Janet and husband, Louis; daughter, Marjorie and husband, John; son, Peter and partner, Michael; grandchildren, Evan, Duncan, Kazimir, Tallulah, and Neil; sister, Mara and husband, Goffredo; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, always ready to help his children and grandchildren find their way, and assist where he could (even building an electronic vibrating machine to help with one of his grandchildren’s hemiplegia induced muscle tightness). Peter was entirely enamored with and delighted by his wife, and always said he had everything he needed as long as she was with him. His family will remember how gentle and kind he was, as well as the brilliant smile with which he greeted them.
Peter was a lover of mysteries, both the human ones of Agatha Christie and Tony Hillerman, and those of the cosmos. He always had a question in mind - usually about topics like fundamental particles, space and time, or God - and was ready to invite others into the asking. His children remember Peter as a crafter of fantastic stories, and the warmth of being in his care as he told them. He was full of humor and wisdom, and had just the right Latin or Italian saying for every occasion.
Peter believed in faith, hope, and charity, and in setting one’s eyes on the future rather than the past, values which his children and grandchildren will carry into their own future.
In a homily composed a few weeks before his death, Peter wrote that a home “can become the place to which we are called and becomes the place where a family can grow in love. It is where we learn what love is and what it is not. It is where we first experience love and where we first give it. It is the place where we first learn that we are loved. Indeed, that we are beloved.” His family is thankful and joyful to have learned this lesson in his home and in his loving presence. He is, and will always remain, beloved.
No funeral service is planned at this time, though his family plan to hold a memorial service in the fall. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Peter can be made to the UT Southwestern Medical Center.
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