OBITUARY
SAINT CLAIR SHORES –
Educator, artist and impassioned humanitarian John "Butch" Mijatovich died May 4, two days after his 61st birthday. Born in Detroit, Mijatovich was four when his family moved to Saint Clair Shores.
Born in Detroit, Mijatovich was four when his family moved to Saint Clair Shores. He graduated from Lakeview High School there, before attending the Society of Arts and Crafts, now known as the College for Creative Studies. A scholarship to the prestigious Parsons School of Design took him to New York, and after completing his studies at the school, Mijatovich spent the next two decades working as a fashion designer. Nine of those years were spent aboard in Milan, where he worked for renowned designer Ken Scott.
Mijatovich's time in Italy had a lasting impact upon him, according to his life partner, Wayne Squires. Jointly, the two were affectionately referred to as JohnWayne.
"He may have left that country to return home, but his heart remained there," said Squires, who would have celebrated his four-year anniversary with Mijatovich in June. "He absolutely loved the gregariousness of the people he met in Italy, as well as their warmth and interest in each other."
A particularly favorite spot of Mijatovich's was the resort village of Livigno, on the Italian-Swiss border.
"If there's such a thing as the soul moving on as the body dies, he's sitting there now in a lounge chair," Squires said.
Upon returning to the states, Mijatovich collaborated with his friend Judy Marchoni, working under the umbrella of John Mijatovich Designs. The two presented his work locally and on the runways of Toronto.
In 1990, Mijatovich, who had an eternal thirst for knowledge, returned to school to study digital art. Afterward, he taught at various local schools as an artist in residence. Working with programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Elements, Mijatovich taught photo manipulation and alternative printing techniques.
In an online tribute, Tom G. Shea, who was 12-years-old when he was a student of Mijatovich's in the Berkley School District, spoke of the teacher's impact.
"This brief exposure with Mr. Mijatovich led me to digital media like I had never been exposed [to] before," he wrote. "This enthusiasm lives on today. I still use the elemental tools and tips he instilled in us from the beginning. … Those three months or so with John Mijatovich were the most influential time of my entire academic career."
In the mid-90s, Mijatovich began teaching at CCS as an adjunct instructor.
"He was just an extraordinary, warm hearted, unassuming person," said Lisa Rigstad, the department administrator for the college's photo program. He was one of those people who sort of had that sensitivity to read how you may be doing during the day, and he always made sure that you felt good about yourself."
S. Kay Young met Mijatovich when she was a fellow instructor as CCS and the two became great friends. Young said that it was his directness and approachability that made him such a powerful instructor.
"He didn't suffer fools kindly, and he didn't put up with bullshit," Young said. "He loved his students. He would give daddy lectures, and everybody knew that when you're getting a daddy lecture you were going to get yelled at. But you knew you'd come out at the end with a big bear hug. The kids had such a tremendous respect for him because he was honest about the way he lived, the way he taught, and about his art."
At Mijatovich's memorial, which took place last week and was attended by over 300 people, CCS President Rick Rogers summed it up succinctly.
"We will never be able to replace John," Rogers said. "We'll get someone else to teach his classes, but they could never replace him, because there's no one else like John."
