Smilja Ceko, 81, of Dyer, Ind., passed away on November 29, 2022, with her loving husband Dusan by her side. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend.
Smilja was born Smilja Mandić on November 10, 1941, in the small farming village of Bosankso Grahovo in present-day Bosnia, then Yugoslavia. She was the third of nine children and was a loving sister to her siblings and a hard worker for her parents. Throughout her childhood, she excelled in school with top grades and perfect attendance.
Smilja married Dusan Ceko in 1964, and in 1969 they left Yugoslavia to make a life in America. They arrived in Chicago, speaking only Serbian, and quickly began building a life. Other family members soon immigrated to Chicago, home of the largest Serbian enclave outside of Serbia, and Smilja spent decades as part of a vibrant community that took care of each other and helped one another succeed in a new country. She later helped her brother and his family come to America to escape war and establish a new life.
Smilja became mother to sons Milorad (“Misho”) and Borislav (“Boris”). Her long-awaited children were the light of her life, and she was a loving and devoted mother. She raised her sons to be kind, thoughtful and respectful, and they made her proud every day.
As much as Smilja loved being a mother, she cherished being a grandmother. Her granddaughters Sasha and Misha became her purpose and the loves of their Baba’s life. She showed them unconditional love and perfect patience. She indulged their wishes and imaginations. She held them late into the night and stared at their sleeping faces. The memory she held onto the longest was of a particular moment with her granddaughter, and she recounted it with joy long after she had forgotten so much else. Her granddaughters are her legacy.
While it is customary to speak highly of the dead, in Smilja’s case it is impossible to speak in hyperbole. She was, as all who knew her will attest, the kindest, gentlest and most thoughtful woman. Her cooking and baking were exquisite although she never followed a recipe, and she fed everyone who walked through her door. She refused to speak ill of others. She smiled easily and worried about her loved ones too much. She had the energy of those half her age, and she chose to expend it on being helpful. Before the cruel disease of dementia set in, those who knew her thought she would live to 100. She should have.
Smilja was preceded in death by her parents Milka and Nikica, sister Zora, brothers Momir and Miloš, sister-in-law Slavica, brother-in-law Gojko, and nephew Nikola. She leaves behind her husband of 58 years, Dusan Ceko; sons Misho (Tara) and Boris (Bridget); granddaughters Sasha and Misha; brothers Slobodan (Adriana) and Borislav (Živana); sisters Milojka, Mara (Stevo) and Bosa (Pero); brother-in-law Mićo and sister-in-law Rada; sister-in-law Mira; nephews Miloš (Brittany), Dragan (Amy), Duško (Marija), Nikica (Dragana) and Vlado (Ana); nieces Milena (Nick), Nina, Duška, Tanja (Djordje), Dragana (Aleksandar), Jovana (Pedja), Ana, Jadranka, Branka, Milena and Dragana; her devoted caregiver Djula; and countless other family members and friends who loved her and miss her immensely.
Visitation services (pomen) will be held on Friday, December 2, at 9 a.m. at St. Archangel Michael’s Serbian Orthodox Church in Lansing followed by funeral services (opelo) at 10 a.m. Interment will take place at 12 p.m. at Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville.
