Services set Jan. 23 for Victor Spinski, retired professor of art

2:01 p.m., Jan. 24, 2013--Services for Victor Spinski, retired professor of art at the University of Delaware, will be held Friday, Jan. 25, at the R.T. Foard and Jones Funeral Home, 122 West Main St., Newark. A memorial service will begin at 1 p.m., and friends may call beginning at noon. Burial will follow at All Saints Cemetary. 

Prof. Spinski, who was 72, died Jan. 21, surrounded by his family.

He joined the UD art faculty in 1968 and taught ceramics for 38 years, retiring in 2006.  

Prof. Spinksi was a well-respected ceramic artist specializing in the genre of trompe l'oeil or "fool the eye," and his work was exhibited and included in permanent collections across the United States and abroad, including the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Design, the American Craft Museum, and the Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. 

Born in Poland, he escaped the Nazi occupation with his late parents, Josef and Sofia Spinski, and spent his early childhood living in refugee camps and military bases throughout Europe as his father worked for the Allies and underground resistance. He immigrated to the United States with his family after World War II, first settling in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then moving to Newton, Kans. 

Fluent in Russian and Polish, he earned his bachelor's degree in Russian literature at Emporia State University and then served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. After sustaining serious injuries in combat and months of rehabilitation, he attended Indiana University, where he earned his master of fine arts degree in ceramics. In 1968 he moved to Newark and joined the UD art department. 

Prof. Spinski is survived by his wife, Sally Van Orden, son, Tristan Spinski, and daughter-in-law, Sarah Spinski. 

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, in care of the funeral home.

Condolences may be left online.