Rođena:10.01.1926. (Burmazi, Bosna i Hercegovina)
Preminula:18.12.2022. (Burnaby, Britanska Kolumbija, Kanada)
Dob: 96
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and dear friend to many. After a long illness Janja passed away in her home on Sunday, December 18th, surrounded by her family.
She was an extraordinary woman who devoted her life to her husband, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was generous with all she met. What gave her the most joy in life was to have her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren around her. Janja is survived by her daughter Vesna (Slav), son Tomislav (Monica), son Marijan (Christine), grandchildren Marina (Ivo), Steven (Gemma), Lisa (Eric), Nicole (Rajan), Katelin (Josip), Julie, and great grandchildren Sofia, Mila, Dominik, Ivan, Hudson, Rosie, Stella, Olivia, and Elodie, sister Mara Udovicic and family as well as many relatives and friends in Canada, USA and Croatia.
Janja was born on January the 10th, 1926 in Burmazi, a district of Stolac in Herzegovina. She was the second child in a family of six children. Janja's father, Baldo, died when she was 10 years old. She helped raise her younger siblings and at the tender age of 10 went to work in a tobacco factory.
During the Second World War Janja’s mother and all the children were shipped off to Slavonia and they never returned to their birthplace. Janja worked in vineyards as a labourer and helped educate her two younger brothers.
In 1952 Janja met Zvonko in a small town called Pozega. They were married on November 23rd of the same year. Janja and Zvonko settled in Pleternica where they had three children: Vesna, Tomislav, and Marijan. Due to the political climate of the time Zvonko reluctantly left his family in 1959 and went to Austria.
After spending eight months in a refugee camp, he moved to Canada. Janja and the children joined him on September 28th, 1962 in Vancouver. After a short stay in Vancouver, they purchased 5 acres in Richmond where they had a small farm and worked the land. They also had cattle, pigs, chickens, rabbits and that is where the family grew. Janja fed the entire neighborhood with her home baked bread, her baking, and her preserves.
In 1988 Janja and Zvonko purchased a home in Burnaby to be closer to their grandkids. Eventually, Tom and Marijan’s families moved close by. They continued planting a large garden on their ¼ acre lot. Their youngest grandchild, Julie inherited baka’s and dida’s love of farming. To this day she has chickens,ducks and rabbits and at one point even goats. Janja and Zvonko’s garden was a source of pride as were Janja’s oleanders and roses.
Janja’s smile would light up a room. People gravitated to her because they could feel her genuine warmth. Small children especially were drawn to her even if they did not know her. Janja was an excellent cook and baker. Her home hosted many dinners for family and friends as well as nuns, priests, bishops and cardinals that would visit our parish. No one ever left her home hungry.
In 1974 Zvonko and Janja started to travel and enjoyed many trips to California and Hawaii. They visited Croatia once it became independent. Janja and Zvonko shared a deep faith and were proud members of the Immaculate Hearth of Mary Croatian Parish. Janja will now join her husband of 69 years who passed away on April 3rd of this year.
Our Janja, wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and a friend to many will remain in our hearts forever!
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