Mira Miletich was born in 1937 to Smiljana and Simo, who worked as farmers and goods traders.  She was raised in rural Brotnja, Donji Lapac, Croatia, Yugoslavia with her five brothers and five sisters.  As a child she helped the family by working as a sheep herder as well as a dairy and crop farmer.  In school, she was known for her writing and athletic skills.

After World War II, the family moved to Kacarevo, Serbia and resumed the farming business, which became more challenging when Mira’s mother passed away when she was 12.  In her twenties, Mira completed nursing school and physical therapy training in Zrenanjin, Serbia.  When she wasn’t working or studying, she enjoyed skydiving, crocheting, and ballroom dancing. 

In August 1962, at age 24, Mira met her husband Ivo at the Bacvice Beach in Split, Croatia while she was on vacation. They spent 2-3 days together, then continued writing letters to each other even though Mira had plans to immigrate to America. 

Mira arrived in America on the boat S.S. Cristoforo Colombo on April 25, 1963 with less than a dollar in her pocket.  She immediately began working in hospitals and rehabilitation centers in Chicago despite not knowing English. 

In January 1967, Mira sponsored Ivo’s immigration to the United States and they were married in Chicago on March 11^th 1967.  Their son George was born in 1968.  The family moved to Norfolk, VA when Ivo landed an assistant professor position at Old Dominion College.  The family lived there from 1972 – 1974, after which a better job opportunity became available in Chicago, fortuitously where most of Mira’s family resided.  Their daughter Marina was born in 1975.

Mira began helping Ivo run a tax preparation business in 1974 where they completed over 500 tax returns a year for 33 years.  She also ran a real estate investing/residential landlord business in Calumet City, IL for over 40 years.  Mira was also a Serbo-Croatian court translator for Berlitz. 

Mira served as a registered nurse for over 35 years, working in the ER, ICU, nursing homes, mental health hospitals, as a visiting nurse, staff nurse, supervisor, with AIDS and terminally ill patients, and countless long hours in surgery rooms.  She avidly attended holistic health seminars and enjoyed meeting fellow medical practitioners.  She spent her whole life reading and learning about a wide variety of topics, especially natural health and spirituality. 

She will be cherished as a wonderful sister, mother, aunt, friend, mentor, and health guru who was far ahead of her time.  She will be remembered for her strong conviction, and for being exceedingly hardworking, motivated, resilient, steadfast, diligent, and always generous with her help towards others.  Her caring, strong spirit will live on within all of us always.  

Funeral services will be held at St. Sava Monastery located at 32377 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL, 60048 on Saturday, July 2, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. Interment will be held immediately after services at St. Sava Monastery Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Sava Serbian Monastery in Libertyville or New Gracanica Serbian Monastery in Lake Villa, Illinois in the name of Mira Miletich

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