Dragica passed away peacefully in her home in her 94th year. She prayed daily for her late husband Ilija to come and bring her to heaven and her wish was finally granted.

Dragica and her late husband Ilija had been married for 64 years prior to his death in late 2023. She was a devoted mother to John (Natallia) and Dean (Ruza) and a loving grandmother to Michelle, Diana, Nicole and Jessica.

She is predeceased by her parents, and all of her brothers and sisters except Jana who is living in Vivodina, Croatia at 98 years old.

In 1958 Dragica left her birthplace of Belosic, Croatia and made her way to Austria before making the final journey to Toronto, Canada that same year. She met her future brother-in-law, Pero, on the boat ride to Canada and saw her future husband, Ilija, at Union Station upon their arrival in Toronto. They got married in November 1959 and in 1973 they moved to Mississauga living in the same house for the last 50 years.

She worked at Sears (Square One) for many years finally retiring in 1997. Upon retirement, she became a long-time babysitter for both Nicole and Jessica and had a hand in raising all four of her granddaughters with her love and big smile. They were her whole life and anything she ever did was with them in mind.

She was always an active member of the Croatian parish in Toronto and then in Mississauga. She was one of the first ladies to volunteer to clean the Toronto church every week upon her arrival from Croatia.

She will be remembered as a colourful character who openly spoke her truth with conviction. She was the “original” influencer and spent many hours in her later years chatting with her friends on the phone. If there was something that the Croatian community needed to know, just tell Dragica and let her work her magic.
Dragica became known as the bionic woman as she had both hips replaced (the last one at 90 years old), one knee replacement and a pacemaker operation.

She was well known for her healthy appetite and very much enjoyed her love of pizza and was a wonderful guest of the Mandarin.

She will be greatly missed by her family and friends both in Canada and Croatia.

A special thank you to her long time PSW, Dawn, who cared for her on a daily basis for the last few years. They shared a special bond and Dragica loved her like her own daughter.

The visitation will be at Turner and Porter Peel Chapel (2180 Hurontario Street, Mississauga) on Tuesday, March 12th, from 2-4 & 6-9 p.m. Rosary prayer will be at 8pm.

The funeral mass will be held at Church of Croatian Martyrs (4605 Mississauga Road, Mississauga) on Wednesday March 13th, at 10 a.m.

Burial will follow at Assumption Cemetery.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the parish that Dragica adored so much, Church of Croatian Martyrs.

The mass will also be available on You Tube at the Croatian Martyrs channel.