Preminula:10.06.2026. (Des Plaines, Illinois, Sjedinjene Američke Države)
Dob: 92
Terezija Salamon of Des Plaines, Illinois, passed away on June 10, 2026. She was known to most of us as Mama, Baca or Tereza. Her life of 92 years was evenly divided between both of her beloved countries, Croatia (Hrvatska) and the United States. Widowed at the age of 45, she and her teenage daughter immigrated to the United States a year later where she started the second half of her life. From an early age, Mama was an avid reader who often attributed her poor vision to reading by candle light and moonlight during her younger years. She is the only person we know who made it through Tolstoy’s War and Peace TWICE! Mama completed four years of formal education (common for that time) but her love of learning never left her. During the winter months in her village, Veliki Bukovec, Mama was often the designated reader to the group of basket weavers in our family. She married her husband, Ivan, at the age of 16, also common for that time. While life in the village was not an easy one, she always stated that her love for her husband and the arrival of her two daughters sustained her.
After moving to Chicago, Mama became a seamstress at Hart Schaffner & Marx where she sewed button holes by hand for 9 cents a piece. Piece by piece, she managed to put her teenage daughter through St. Scholastica High School and then Loyola University Chicago. Mama’s American Dream came true!
Later on in life, the greatest source of joy for Mama was to help take care of her sweet granddaughter, Lili, whom she named after the hit song Lili by the pop-rock group Srebrna Krila (Silver Wings). She lived with her beloved cat Smokey in Rogers Park and she travelled extensively with her family. She continued to make bi-monthly trips to Harold Washington Library in downtown Chicago to check out books in Croatian or in any other Slavic language available. Finally, Mama was a woman of strong faith and she attended St. Margaret Mary Church in West Rogers Park.
Mama loved cooking meals and baking cookies for the many people in her life and she never shied away from toasting life with Sljivovica whenever possible. Mama’s favorite holiday was Thanksgiving and it was a tradition that we gathered in her home to celebrate. Without fail, Mama would raise a glass and say thank you to the country that provided her and her children with a good life.
Mama was preceded in death by her husband, Ivan, her son-in-law, Gary Whitman, and her parents and sister. She is survived by her children, Mirjana Whitman (d. Gary), and Snjezana Massengill (Douglas). Mama is also survived by her beloved niece, Marija Bahat and her great-niece, Sonja Bahat. She is survived by her grandchildren, John Rukavina (Stephanie), Lucy Rukavina and Lili Massengill and her great-grandchildren, Veronika Rukavina and Sebastian Rukavina. While not related by blood, Baca was a secondary proud and loving grandmother to Bryan, Nicky, Joshua and Sarah Lobont.
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