Joe is lovingly missed by his wife, Evelyn, his children Darren (Nola) and Angela, and his grandchildren Chris, Dawn and Faith (Spencer); siblings Nikola, Zdenko (Darlene) and Ratka; as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
Joe was predeceased by his parents Riko and Anka; his brother Ratko; brothers-in-law Marvin Solie, Ivan Stojic and Otto Stojke; and sisters-in-law Anne Dusevic and Lilah Daae.
Joe was born in the small town of Ljubac, Croatia on August 25, 1938. His childhood memories involved working diligently with his family, the hard times of the Second World War and the aftermath. At the age of 19, Joe began his journey to Canada to escape from communist controlled Yugoslavia by jumping the cruise ship he worked on when it ported in Germany. Joe lived in a refugee camp for 6 months before beginning the next steps of his journey to Canada. Joe first stepped foot on Canadian soil in Quebec and travelled to Saskatchewan where he met Evelyn. The two married on November 19, 1960.
Joe and Evelyn moved to Calgary in 1960, where Joe began his career as a baker and they had their two children. In 1970, Joe and Evelyn took a leap of faith and bought the Golden Bakery, which they could afford by including their Calgary home in the purchase, and moved their family to Golden.
Ten years later, Joe and Evelyn built the home they would spend the remainder of his life in.
Joe is remembered as a hard worker who always put his family needs before his own. Joe was a loving husband, father and grandfather and was often seen in the community advocating for the right to learn a second language in the school system, watching his grandchildren play soccer in the league he helped start and pouring coffee in the business he made a success.
No comments:
Post a Comment