Ruza Jekic

It is with a deep sense of loss that we announce the passing of our loved one, Ruza (Jankovic) Jekic, who passed on Monday, April 22nd, 2024 in Toronto at age 90.

She was born on July 26th, 1933 in the village of Batkusa, Bosnia and Herzegovina as the third child of Aleksandar and Mara Jankovic. She grew up on a farm with her six brothers and sisters.

Ruza’s life is a story of tremendous courage, strength and perseverance. She overcame many difficulties in her life, including growing up during WWII and losing her beloved father in 1946 when she was just 13 years old.

Ruza went to work in a neighboring town at age 14 while continuing to help on the farm. Ruza always rolled up her sleeves without hesitation to help her family and others.

She married Stjepan Jekic at age 18 and they welcomed two children, Mico and Mirjana. The family moved to the town of Brcko, Bosnia when the children were young. Here Ruza worked during the day, took care of the family in the evenings, and then studied late at night when everyone was asleep. She earned a law degree. 

Ruza eventually moved to the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia when her son was to start university, and worked there as an executive till end of her career. During that time, she spent holidays traveling across the country and abroad, and weekends in nature around Sarajevo. She carried especially fond and fun memories from trips to Paris and Moscow.

As Ruza was settling into her golden age, enjoying her children and grand-children, a civil war broke out in Bosnia in 1991. Ruza and her husband Stjepan had to leave Sarajevo and spent a chunk of the war in the mountain of Romanija where she lost her life partner to a long and hard illness 10 years later.

Ruza moved to Toronto, Canada in 2007 to join her children and grand-children who were living in Canada by then. She lived with her daughter Mirjana and was an absolute joy to her grand-children and eventually great grand-children in the United States, who loved to spend time with her. She was full of warmth, humor and stories.

Ruza was an excellent cook, and one of her great pleasures was cooking multiple dishes in huge quantities and seeing them enjoyed by her family and friends.

While in Toronto, she attended various senior exercise classes and joined a group of gardeners on the parcel that the city gave to seniors.

Ruza’s health started slowly declining in recent years and took a turn for the worse toward the end of 2023. She spent her last 6 weeks in Toronto General Hospital with constant presence of her family. Although she lost her final battle, her family is grateful for the care and compassion of everyone in the Cardiology and Nephrology Departments.

Ruza’s life path was not easy but it was meaningful. Ruza’s family was truly blessed to have her love and influence. She exuded strength and positive energy despite the many challenges she experienced and always kept moving forward with optimism and courage.

Ruza will be deeply missed by her children Mirjana and Mico Jekic, daughter-in-law Nera Jekic, grandchildren Mihaela and Vladimir Jekic, great-grandchildren Mia and Max Lancia, grandson-in-law Mark Lancia, granddaughter-in-law Arianna Jekic, brother Zarko Jankovic, her nieces and nephews, and other relatives and friends.

Her legacy of love and resilience lives on in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

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Sa dubokom zaloscu objavljujemo da je nasa voljena Ruža (Janković) Jekić preminula u ponedeljak 22. aprila 2024. godine u Torontu u devedesetoj godini života.

Ruža je rodjena 26. jula 1933. godine u selu Batkuša u Bosni i Hercegovini kao treće dijete Aleksandra i Mare Janković, gdje je i odrasla uz svojih šestoro braće i sestara.

Rana mladost joj je bila ometena drugim svjetskim ratom i gubitkom oca 1946. godine kada joj je bilo svega 13 godina. U poratnim godinama, još kao maloljetnica, radi u obližnjem gradu i u isto vrijeme pomaže u seoskim radovima.

U 18. godini se udaje za Stjepana Jekića i dobija dvoje djece, Miću and Mirjanu. Porodica se seli u Brčko kada su djeca bila mala. Tu je Ruža radila tokom dana, uveče brinula o porodici, a kada svi zaspu, učila. Cilj je bio prvi stepen na Pravnom fakultetu, što je I ostvarila nakon nekoliko godina.

Kada je Mićo trebao da krene na fakultet, porodica se seli u Sarajevo gdje Ruža radi kao Financijski Direktor do kraja svog radnog vijeka. Tokom tog vremena odmore provodi putujci po zemlji i inostranstvu, a vikende u prirodi oko Sarajeva i sa unucima koje je stekla u medjuvremenu. Posebno drage i vesele uspomene je nosila iz posjete Parizu i Moskvi. 

Zlatno doba i starost koji su počeli tako dobro, uživanjem u slobodnom vremenu i unucima, prekinuto je izbijanjem gradjanskog rata u 1991. godini. Ratne i nekoliko posleratnih godina provodi na Romaniji gdje njen životni drug 2001. podliježe dugoj i teškoj bolesti. 

2007. godine Ruža odlazi u Toronto u Kanadi da se pridruži svojoj djeci i unucima koja su tamo živjeli vec niz godina. Njena toplina, smisao za humor i priče bili su magnet za njene unuke, a kasnije i praunuke. 

Ruža je bila odlična kuvarica i jedno od njenih čestih zadovoljstava je bilo da spremi veliku količinu raznovrsne hrane i posmatra kako je rodbina i prijatelji jedu sa užitkom. 

Tokom života u Torontu uživala je u časovima vježbi za seniore kao i baštovanstvu u dijelu parka koje je grad dodijelio seniorima.

Zdravlje joj polako popušta u zadnjim godinama života, da bi se znatno pogoršalo na kraju 2023. godine. Zadnjh 6 nedelja života provodi u Toronto General bolnici uz stalno prisustvo familije. I ako je izgubila tu zadnju bitku, njena porodica je zahvalna cjelokupnom osoblju Odjeljenja za Kardiologiju i Nefrologiju na ukazanoj brizi i pažnji. 

Ružin životni put je bio put posvecenosti bližnjma i prevazilaženju izazova. Nije bio lagan, ali je bio svrsishodan i značajan. Njen gubitak duboko osjećaju njena djeca Mirjana i Mićo Jekić, snaja Nera Jekić, unuci Mihaela i Vladimir Jekić, praunuci Mia i Max Lancia, zet Mark Lancia, snaja Arianna Jekić, brat Žarko Janković, te ostala mnogobrojna rodbina i prijatelji. 

Ružina životna snaga, optimizam i ljubav ce vjecno ostati u srcima onih koji su je znali I voljeli.