Giulio Zulic
15thAugust 1935 – 21 September 2018
We are sad for the passing of our dear Brother Giulio Zulic and would like to send our deepest sympathies to the Zulic Family on the loss of their loved one. Brother Giulio fell asleep in Jesus on the 21stSeptember 2018. May God comfort each family member as they mourn the loss of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4.
Giulio’s Life Sketches as told by his daughter Anna Allen:
Dad was born in a small-town village by the name ‘Cepic’ in the Northern side of Croatia. He was the last child born to a family of four siblings. He was very close to his mother and loved her dearly, a special bond that lasted ten years. Dad had a strong desire to be adventurous, try new things and see the world.
Dad was an inspirational family man, caring and loving. Dad would make sure his family always came first, especially when faced with hard times, making sure we had food on the table and clothes and shoes to wear. Together with Mum, he made sure their children were taken good care of. He was the one to look to, whenever in doubt, or when we needed guidance, words of knowledge and advice, he was always there.
Which brings me to the first chapter of my life, as a little girl. I remember I had just turned 7 and time for school had started. I looked forward to this episode in my life, yet I was full of uncertainty, yet I looked forward to this milestone in my young years. Mum and Dad both took me to school that early summer morning, Dad said to me that he was carrying a pencil to give to me when we got to school, he had it in his pocket. I was excited and overjoyed, but sadly he had forgotten it, I cried and was sad that day.
Dad being of European background and new to our country, he still spoke a fair amount of Croatian, which meant from time to time he would talk to us in Croatian dialect. I guess he wanted us to be able to get to know his background. He brought with him not only a different culture to ours, but also the memories that made him, the boy, the teenager, and the man that he was. He loved sharing with us his music, folk songs from his hometown. Not only did he sing them to us and Mum, but also whenever possible he would take the time to tell us what ‘those’ songs meant, for he made sure we knew and understood why he wanted to share this with us. It was a time of reflection that took him back to his roots, his hometown, his family. Many times, whenever he shared these sweet memories he would end up in tears, for it brought sad memories of his hometown and family he had left behind.
Dad was a hard-working man from very early years of his life. The eagerness and willingness he employed with him in every project he ever put his mind to. He loved building things, putting things together or from scratch.
Our first home in Chile bears the ‘Trade of the Art’. ‘Welding’ ‘steel’ and ‘cement’ were the main materials that he used to erect a beautiful two-story house in Chile, where some of ‘us’ learnt to take our first steps. This house was the biggest project he endeavored to pursue, form scratch to almost finish state. This was his pride and joy in every way possible.
As fate would have it, Dad loved adventure and traveling abroad, looking for something better for his family. Mum and Dad were not happy with the conditions of the country at the time. We believe God had it all in His masterplan and a new door of opportunities opened for them and us their children. New beginnings, new windows of hope were on the horizon as this new adventure was taking place. The time had come to embark and embrace ‘new everything’. Before all this was to take place, we, as a family, were to impress the Australian Ambassador. So Dad would prepare the words he was to say… Mr. Ambassador, this is my family. We could not hold our joy as we were getting ready for the unknown before us.
Here is where a story of courage, heroism, bravery and valor was born. This marked a stamp of approval to what was in store for us, an unknown future in a new country and new beginnings.
It’s been a little over three years since we lost our ‘Mum’. Dad became more than a hero to me, we became closer and our relationship grew stronger as now we were both walking with the same shoes on down the same road without our life companions, nonetheless we encouraged each other with better things to come. Whenever possible, I would visit Dad more often than I did before. We would comfort each other, that we would see our loved ones gone once again. I would share with him words of comfort, of peace and of joy, that we have the hope of a wonderful future together with the Lord. Dad loved reading the Bible, its promises gave him the hope that one day all the sad things will pass away. Dad took encouragement from our times spent together, we would also read the Word of God, sing hymns which brought hope and peace to his heart.
For months and weeks on end Dad put lots of effort in learning and memorising this beautiful hymn “Lord Jesus, I long to be Perfectly Whole” hymn number 345 in the Reformation Hymnal. We have a short clip where he sings it in Spanish, “Anhelo Ser Limpio”. He sang in tune whenever possible and shared it with us many times. While singing it, he would be in tears as he was touched by God’s wondrous love and His Spirit. Bro Ben recorded it in one his visits to dad’s place.
Because of Christ’s grace and righteousness, we will see Dad again when the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 takes place: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Thenwe which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
God’s promises: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Revelation 21:4.
We look forward to the time when our grieving will turn into JOY!
“Dad, we will meet you in the morning”
“Sresti ću te ujutro”
“Ci incontraremo la mattina”
“Nos encontraremos en la mañana” – Your loving family.
