Dr, Branko A. Yirka Ph.D, a prominent member of the Croatian Academy of America and a former member of the Academy's Executive Council, died at his home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on Saturday, August 13, 1977 after suffering a heart attack.
Yirka was born on December 13, 1918 in Sarajevo, Bosnia. He studied classical and Slavic languages and literature at the University of Zagreb. After the end of World War II, he lived as a political exile in Austria and studied at the University of Graz until 1950, when he immigrated to the United States. He settled in Cleveland and continued his studies at John Carroll University and at Western Reserve. He obtained his M.A. from Western Reserve and then went on to earn his Ph.D. 
Yirka taught at Saint Edward High and at Saint Joseph High School, where he taught French and Russian. He was the Chairman of the Language Department, Director of the Language Laboratory, and Moderator 
of the Language Clubs at SJH.