William James Lubic passed away on the afternoon of July 18, 2023, at the age of 96 in Red Bank. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Bill served in the United States Navy and was a member of the Class of 1949 at Columbia College where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, rowed crew and was on the varsity fencing team.
Bill practiced real estate law in Manhattan after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and, in 1973 started the firm of Kagan & Lubic, which continues as Kagan, Lubic, Lepper, Finkelstein & Gold LLP.
He married nursing student Ruth Watson in 1955 and encouraged and supported Ruth’s higher education and development of maternal and child health care. His greatest pride was her establishment of the first out-of-hospital, midwife-guided childbearing center in the United States in 1975. Ruth’s receipt of the MacArthur Fellowship “Genius Grant” in 1993 was a triumph for them both.
Following retirement from the practice of law in New York, Bill and Ruth resided in Washington, D.C. before moving to Red Bank in 2021 to be close to family. Bill was mentally vigorous until the end of his life when he passed away in his sleep.
Bill was predeceased by his parents, Stefan and Antonietta (Annette) Ljubičić, and his elder brother Edward S. Lubich. Bill is survived by his wife Ruth Watson Lubic of Red Bank; his sister Mildred Weisberg of Merion Station, Pennsylvania; his son Douglas Watson Lubic and daughter-in-law Ann M. Dougherty of Red Bank; and grandchildren Charles L. Lubic of New York City and Alice M. Lubic of Whidbey Island, Washington.
Services are private. Memorial donations may be made in support of student financial aid at Columbia University to Elisa Heikkilä, Columbia Alumni Center, 622 West 113th St., MC4520, New York, NY 10025 or at college.givenow.columbia.edu.
The article originally appeared in the August 3 – 10, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
