Obituary of Radoslav Milutin Kosanin

Radoslav Kosanin

Radoslav Milutin Kosanin, M.D., passed away peacefully on Aug. 12, 2022, at the age of 81. Dr. Kosanin was born in Kragujevac, Serbia, on June 3, 1941, to the late Milutin and Draga Kosanin. He survived his siblings Branka, Radko and Bogoljub.

Dr. Kosanin graduated from medical school at the University of Belgrade in 1965. He practiced medicine in Belgrade and Arandjelovac before relocating to West Germany in 1968 for a residency in anesthesiology. He completed his residency there in 1972 and moved to New York City in 1973. He continued further residency at Columbia Presbyterian for three years, after which he served as an anesthesiologist for two years at Albert Einstein Montefiore.

Dr. Kosanin came to Durham, NC, in 1978 to work at Duke University Medical Center as an assistant professor, clinical director, and chief of anesthesia for plastic, oral and maxillofacial surgery. He went on to Alamance County Memorial Hospital in 1985, where he was chairman of the anesthesiology department. In 1989, he moved into private practice at the Plastic Surgery Center in Durham. Dr. Kosanin retired from private practice in 2013, at the age of 72.

In spite of his impressive career, Dr. Kosanin (also known as Rad or Dr. K by those close to him) remained a humble man, who valued hard work and discipline. Dr. K was an old school gentleman whose life was work and family. Upon retiring, he enjoyed practicing Spanish and later Italian. He liked to take walks at South Point or University Place (always dressed to the nines!) and chat with people along the way. He loved his fast food for lunch (preferably Bojangles), and always fresh bread from Weaver St. Market with dinner.

Dr. K loved to laugh and always had a joke up his sleeve. He encouraged people to appreciate what they have “because it could always be worse,” and often reminded us that “life is good... life is damn good.”

Dr. K was a dedicated and adored husband, father, grandfather and friend. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Olga Kosanin, daughters Alexandra Kosanin and Charlotte Nelson, son-in-law Ryan Nelson, and grandsons Charles Nelson and Oliver Nelson.

In keeping with Dr. K’s insistence on no fanfare, a private service will be held at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill this fall, followed by a celebration of life. In honor of Dr. K, please consider donating to Serbs for Serbs (en.srbizasrbe.org) or American Society of Anesthesiologists (asahq.org). Viva Dr. K!