Dr. Volodymyr Kuzmich Tsapenko

Dr. Volodymyr Tsapenko, 89, passed away at the residence of his family on August 7th 2024. A native of the Kyiv region of Ukraine, he was the son of a school teacher; Mariya Vitrovaand Kuzma Tsapenko. He was proceeded in death by his beloved wife Nataliya Kryvoshey in 2022. Volodymyr is survived by his sons Mykola and Arseniy and their families. Dr. Tsapenko was a one-of-a-kind person that always expressed kindness and compassion despite the many challenges and difficult situations he faced throughout his life. Being born during Holodomor (artificial famine in Ukraine created by Communist Russia in 1930s) and being raised during WW2, he was left with a devastating childhood, losing multiple close family members including his brother and his father who was executed by Nazis. He started working long hours at a very early age in order to support his family in place of his father. Despite this, he still managed to attend school in the evenings and on weekends, pursuing his passion in physics and mathematics. After serving in the military, he was accepted to and graduated from the Kyiv Polytechnical University, where he subsequently obtained a PhD and was invited to continue his research and teaching. He spent another 50+ years as a professor in this world-famous institution, completing countless scientific projects in contemporary military and physics research. His students now work all over the world, including in the US. Although he was very dedicated to his career, he had a variety of passions and hobbies outside of it such as playing different instruments, reviving broken and vintage household items, and inventing new electronic mechanisms and devices; he stayed creative his entire life and always expressed a unique ability to be amazed. Dr. Tsapenko was a resilient man who was strict to himself, but very lenient and kind to other people he interacted with. He lived a life of servitude forming strong, long-lasting relationships with colleagues and research associates from all over the world. He loved his wife and two sons beyond words and was always so proud of them, supporting and celebrating any of their achievements. He welcomed new family members and always expressed kindness and love to them, and was a very bright and positive person. We remember him and miss him a lot. The family will celebrate the life of Volodymyr Tsapenko with friends and family at 6 pm in the Rose Funeral home, Knoxville, TN on Tuesday, August 15th.

Tributes

Dr. Volodymyr Kuzmich Tsapenko

January 27, 1935 - August 7, 2024