Mirko JUNGIC

JUNGIC, Mirko
1923 - 2016
We are sad to announce the passing of Mirko (Milan) Jungic on October 19, 2016. He is survived by his sons, Zoran and Veselin; his sister, Jela; his daughter-in-law, Sadika; his grandsons, Ozren and Damir; and his friends in Vancouver and his native Bosnia. Mirko was predeceased by his beloved wife Olga (née Sovilj), who passed in 1995. Mirko lived a long life dedicated to serving the communities that he belonged to. He was born in a small village called Kukulje in what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1923. His parents died in the Second World War. Shortly after that tragic time, he met Olga, the love of his life. The couple worked as elementary school teachers in the village of Svodna after the war. Mirko taught mathematics and physics. In 1959, they moved to Sarajevo where Mirko became the elementary school principal in the working class suburb of Vogosca. Olga and Mirko raised their boys there, Zoran becoming a poet and Veso a mathematician. Olga and Mirko retired in the early 1980s and moved to Olga's ancestral village, Budimlic Japra. After the passing of his wife and the end of another war in his country, Mirko immigrated to Canada in 1996 to join his sons and their families. He set about learning English at the age of 73 and quickly found company to play chess. Mirko was a gentleman and an empathetic soul, except when he played chess. He was an active volunteer for ten years at the 411 Seniors Centre, a frequent visitor to the Gathering Place on Helmcken, and a regular at the Tim Hortons on 10th and Trimble. Mirko was happy and grateful to have spent the final years of his life in Canada.