Zlata Havlikova

Zlata Havlikova, age 77, of Columbus passed away on October 18, 2024. She was born 5 July 1947 in a small spa town in South Moravia, Czechoslovakia. She had a knack for languages, and grew up learning Czech and Slovak, Russian (mandatory in schools), German by private tutor, and finally English. She grew up loving sports, including tennis, volleyball, and gymnastics; and she was a good dancer, having trained in ballet in primary school and modern dance at university. 

Zlata studied the Czech and German languages at the university in Brno. She was in the first group of language students from behind the Iron Curtain to visit Germany for vacation courses, during the Prague Spring in 1968. Her future husband, Michael Steve, attended the same university on scholarship, but did not go on vacation, opting to stay in the international student facility. She spied on him in the Music Room playing guitar and asked him about a particular song when she learned he was from America. She later said it was love at first sight.

At the end of her vacation courses, they exchanged addresses and began exchanging letters in German. Zlata wrote about the news, and about her hopes and dreams. She invited Mike for a “revenge visit” at her university and shortly afterward to her hometown. The budding romance was cut short by the Warsaw Pact invasion on 21 August, and years of regular correspondence in German ensued. 

They exchanged marriage vows in 1972 and began working on those hopes and dreams. They had three beautiful (as she foresaw) children together: Michael, Renata, and Adrian. The boys did not marry, but Renata married her college beau, Grant. They have two children, Nataša and Leoš. 

A knot was tied off in the family tapestry when Zlata took her last breath on 18 October 2024. That breath contained the last bit of life energy she had, and all her hopes and dreams were released to re-inspire all who knew her. May she rest in peace

Arrangements with GRAUMLICH FUNERAL HOME, 1351 South High Street, Columbus, OH. 43207. To leave an online condolence for the family on Zlata's tribute page please visit www.graumlichfuneralhome.com