Victor Francis Mockus, Jr. MD

Victor Francis Mockus, Jr. MD passed away peacefully on May 6, 2026, surrounded by his family, he was 94 years old.

Victor was born in Kenosha, WI on June 16, 1931, to Victor and Anne Mockus. He moved in 1942 to Bell, CA where he attended UCLA and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology. In 1952, Victor joined the U.S. Navy where he served for twelve years. It was in the Navy that he felt called to the medical field. He attended medical school at Creighton University in Omaha, NE and it is there that he met the love of his life, Rita Sears. They were engaged in August of 1959 and married on June 4, 1960. Together they raised five children.

Once Victor completed medical school, he and Rita moved to San Jose, CA, to complete his residency in Radiology at Santa Clara County Hospital. After those three years, they moved the family to Santa Cruz where he worked as a Radiologist for 27 years at the Santa Cruz Medical Clinic.

Victor was a very talented singer and particularly enjoyed singing opera. He sang as a supernumerary for the Los Angeles Opera, was part of the chorus for Bay Shore Lyric Opera, and a vocalist in the Holy Cross Church Senior Choir serving from 1972 until 2023. He was also proud of his Lithuanian heritage on his maternal side. His grandfather had been conscripted into the Russian army to be a body double for Czar Nicholas II. He also loved to travel and made three round trip transatlantic crossings on the Queen Mary II.

Victor will be greatly missed. He is survived by his five children, John Mockus, Jeffery (Kathleen) Mockus, Anne-Marie Mockus, Letitia (former spouse Jose) Calderon, Tim (former spouse Kelli Crawshaw) Mockus; grandsons Adam Mockus, Gabriel Calderon, Kai Mockus, Matthew Mockus; granddaughters Emily Bartlett, Lucia Calderon-Nunez; great-grandson Nico Nunez; and great-granddaughters Hazel Bartlett, Willow Bartlett; who will all carry on his legacy.

He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 55 years Rita Mockus; parents Victor Mockus, Sr. and Anne Mockus; granddaughter Olivia Mockus; and daughter-in-law Nancy Mockus.

A public viewing will be held on Friday, June 5th at Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, CA from 4:30-5:30pm with the Vigil to follow from 5:30-7pm. The Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 11:30am at Holy Cross Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Victor’s name to the Holy Cross Music Ministry and Hospice of Santa Cruz County.