[3][4] While studying in Rome after the Second World War, Velikonja learned his father had been executed after a show trial in Slovenia.

[4] Velikonja met his future wife, Matilde (Tilly) Rus, a few years later in Trieste, where she was working as an English teacher.

[5] He emigrated to the United States in 1955, where he briefly worked as a manual laborer before continuing his academic career.

After graduating from high school in Ljubljana, Velikonja was initially interested in forestry and art history.

His research took him to Canada and Europe several times, and he presented his work at various academic congresses from 1961 onward.