Ljubica Ljotić Dobrilović (mnogima poznatija kao „Teta Seka“) preminula je u četvrtak, 10. jula 2025 godine. Dijagnoza raka joj je postavljena u januaru 2024 godine što je celu porodicu šokiralo i ožalostilo. Tako je započela njena hrabra jednoipogodišnja borba sa bolešću.

Ljubica je rođena 14. juna 1929 godine u Smederevu, u Jugoslaviji. Njeni roditelji, Dimitrije i Ivka Ljotić, bili su poznati građani Smedereva. Odrasla je sa svoja dva starija brata, Vladimirom i Nikolom, i sa decom svoje tetke Jelene Todorović – Milanom, Vladimirom i Mihajlom – kao deo šire porodice Ljotić-Todorović. Do početka drugog svetskog rata je živela u Smederevu. Ljubica je bila 15 godina kada je njen otac Dimitrije u aprilu 1945 godine tragično poginuo u saobraćajnoj nesreći u Sloveniji. Dok se rat bližio kraju Ljubica i njena majka sa hiljadama izbeglica preko Slovenije napuštaju svoju domovinu. One su provele šest godina u izbegličkim logorima u Italiji I Nemačkoj, a pre nego što su emigrirale u Ameriku. Ljubica je bila 21 godinu kada je stigla u Boston 1950 godine odakle su prijatelji nju i majku usmerili u Čikago. Tu su se nastanile i otpočele život od početka, izgubivši sve po napuštanju Jugoslavije. Život u Čikagu je započela radeći u Hart, Šafner i Marks, šijući odeću kao radnica po komadu. U Čikagu je i upoznala svog supruga, Danila Dobrilovića, člana pokreta Zbor koji je osnovao njen otac Dimitrije. Venčali su se 1958 godine. Oboje su uz posao završavali svoje obrazovanje da bi izdržavali porodicu. Tokom osam godina, Ljubica je pohađala razne univerzitete, skupljajući kredite koliko joj je posao dozvoljavao. Diplomirala je hemiju na Univerzitetu Ruzvelt 1967 godine.

Ljubica je bila zaposlena kao hemičarka u laboratorijama Bakster Travenol, gde je više od 20 godina radila u eksperimentalnoj hemijskoj laboratoriji. Desetine godina je posvetila srpskoj zajednici i Srpskoj pravoslavnoj crkvi Svetog Vaskrsenja u Čikagu. Njena strast prema srpskom jeziku i kulturi bila joj je veoma važna. Ljubica je bila direktorka srpske škole “Sveto Vaskrsenje“ više od 20 godina, učeći srpsku decu rođenu u Americi da čitaju i pišu na srpskom jeziku. Takođe je godinama bila uključena u nedeljnu školu i u Kolo Srpskih Sestara.

Nakon iznenadne i prerane smrti svog supruga Danila 1986 godine postaje matrijarh porodica Dobrilović, Ljotić i Todorović, insistirajući na održavanju porodičnih veza, srpskih pravoslavnih verskih tradicija i vrednosti, kao i na poznavanju srpske istorije i običaja. Za većinu pravoslavnih prazničnih proslava sakupljala je porodicu oko bogate trpeze u svom domu. “Tetina kuhinja” će uvek ostati u sećanju njenih najbližih kao poseban doživljaj. Slavu Svetog Jovana je planirala nedeljama unapred spremajući raznovrsnia jela i kolače u kojima bi mnogobrojni gosti uživali. Često je u ove proslave uključivala “siročad“ koja su se nalazila u crkvi kada nisu imali gde drugde da odu za praznik. Njena velikodušnost je bila ogromna, uvek se starajući da ljudi budu uključeni, da dobiju poklon za Božić ili da im se oda priznanje kada je to zasluženo.
Iako je njeno telo popuštalo, Božjom milošću, um joj je ostao oštar, pamćenje netaknuto, a duh jak. Do svog poslednjeg dana, delila je svoju beskrajnu ljubav i mudrost sa svima nama. Ona je jedna od poslednjih u velikoj i istorijskoj generaciji. Večnaja Pamjat.

Iza nje su ostali sin Stevan (Milka) i unuci Danilo, Marija i Natalija, kao i članovi porodica Ljotić, Emerson i Todorović.

Rodbina i prijatelji oprostili su se od pokojne Ljubice u četvrtak, 17. jula 2025. godine, od šest sati posle podne do 7 sati posle podne u Srpskoj Pravoslavnoj Sabornoj Crkvi Svetog Vaskrsenja Hristovog, 5701 N Redwood Drive, Chicago, IL 60631.

Mali Pomen obavljen je u 7 sati posle podne u Srpskoj Pravoslavnoj Sabornoj Crkvi Svetog Vaskrsenja Hristovog.

Opelo pokojne Ljubice obavljeno je u petak, 18. jula 2025. godine, u 10 sati pre podne u Srpskoj Pravoslavnoj Sabornoj Crkvi Svetog Vaskrsenja Hristovog.

Posle Opela obavljena je sahrana na groblju manastira Svetog Save, 32377 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, IL 60048. 

Umesto cveća, donacije se mogu uplatiti Srpskoj pravoslavnoj katedrali Holy Resurrection, Endowment Fund Danilo Dobrilović, 5701 N. Redwood Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60631.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Eulogy given by Stevan Dobrilović on Thursday July 17, 2025 at Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois:

I would like to start by thanking all of my mother’s friends and the priests who visited her over the last year while she was battling her cancer. You inspired her to continue fighting and to continue to live life on her terms. Also, I want to especiallythank my cousin Ivanka for her daily visits to my mother’s home and the hospital. It comforted my mother greatly and gave me the opportunity to continue to work knowing that another family member was there for my mother in her time of need.

My mother, Ljubica Ljotic Dobrilovic, was a determined, resilient, and principled woman. She was demanding and strict, but she was also loving and cared deeply for the Serbian people. She was the proud matriarch of the Dobrilovic, Ljotic, and Todorovic extended family. She loved her family fiercely, and exhibited a persistent resolve to protect and unite her family. She possessed a deep faith in God, a respect for Serbian Orthodox religious beliefs, and apassion for Serbian history, culture and customs. These traitsformed who my mother was as a person and her history is instrumental in understanding how she became the person that the people attending this funeral service knew and loved.

Ljubica was born in Smederevo in 1929 to parents Dimitrije & Ivka Ljotic. Dimitrije was a well-known lawyer in Smederevo and controversial national political figure. He was a determined idealist with a strong belief in a benevolent Serbian monarchy. He cared deeply for the Serbian people and worked diligently through turbulent times to protect Serbs from the Nazi’s and other foes. He was deeply religious and stressed Serbian Orthodox dogma to his family and followers. My mother witnessed these traits as Dimitrije formed and led the Zbor movement, inspiring Serbian youth to adopt a new vision for the country. She also saw her father negotiate with the Nazi’s to stop the killing of 100 Serbs for each Nazi soldier killed in Yugoslavia, despite being called a Nazi sympathizer.

My mother’s family life was dominated by her two brothers, Vladimir and Nikola and the children of her aunt Jelena Todorovic (Dimitrije’s sister) – Milan, Vladimir, and Mihaijlo. She was the only girl among all the boys, most who were older than her. To be noticed in this crowd of rambunctious boys required her to be assertive and self-confident, something that was hard to do in the male oriented environment prevalent in Serbian culture. She mastered these traits quickly and demonstrated them time and again throughout her life.

Ljubica’s mother, my Baka Ivka, was Croatian and was not always accepted by the Ljotic family. She was resilient and determined, even stubborn by some accounts, which was a necessity required to survive in the dynamic Ljotic family that was filled with lawyers, diplomats, artists, and otherintellectuals. Ivka always stood her ground when some Ljotic family members tested her. In fact, she converted to Serbian Orthodoxy not in Yugoslavia under pressure from the family, frustrated that the Catholic priest in Chicago did not believe she was a Catholic when she tried to receive communion. Ljubica spent her entire life watching her mother navigate endless challenges and come out of each stronger and more resolute.

These anecdotes demonstrate the lessons my mother Ljubica learned growing up and how they shaped her character. She observed her family’s behavior in trying times and internalized those lessons. She noticed that integrity, strong character, and Orthodox Christian values are necessary to keep on a righteous path. She strived every day of her life to live by these traits and was blessed by God with an immensely rewarding and long life, in spite of the many difficulties she endured along her path.

After fleeing Yugoslavia and spending six years in refugee camps, Ljubica and her mother Ivka arrived in Boston on June 19, 1950, only 5 days after she turned 21 on the transport ship. Alone with her mother in Chicago, she immediately demonstrated the character traits she learned as a child, working to support her mother who spoke no English. After marriage to her husband Danilo in 1958, she continued working and going to school while Danilo completed his Master’s Degree. She struggled for 8 years, attending various universities while working full time, to accumulate credits to complete her Chemistry degree. Ljubica was determined to complete her education, establish her family, and create a better life for her young son using the traits she learned from her family and during her journey to the United States. I want to share a few more anecdotes to illustrate some other character traits that my mother learned from her family and demonstrated during her life:
My mother was idealistic. She spent 50 years in the United States as a stateless person before becoming a US Citizen. She always dreamed of and was determined to return to Yugoslavia, the country she was proud of and loved. My father and I would often tease her that by the time she returned to Yugoslavia, the country would not exist. This teasing became a fact in 2006 when Montenegro declared itself an independent country and split from Serbia, ending the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. My mother only became a US Citizen because it was so difficult for her to obtain visas required to visit Millie and me when we lived in Moldova in 1998. After we moved to Ukraine in 2001, my mother swore that her next visit to Kyiv in 2003 would be easier – she would become a US Citizen rather than deal with the bureaucracy of European countries to get the required visas for her next visit. It took her 50+ years to move on from her idealistic dream that she would return to live in Yugoslavia.

My mother had deep faith in Christ and respect for the Serbian Orthodox Church. She regularly took communion and attended liturgy weekly. She knew the dates of all religious holidays, explaining their significance to the family. She lived her life according to the church’s teachings, exhibiting love and compassion for all around her. She demonstrated her faith through service to others, always inviting people into her home, teaching children, and being involved in the church community. With an unwavering commitment and a fierce determination, she completed pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to the Orthodox religious sites in Russia (she went to the holy sites near Moscow and St.Petersburg on a tour with Metropolitan Longin).

Serbian language and history were of paramount importance to my mother. In the mid 1970’s she revived the Holy Resurrection Cathedral’s Serbian school from the dead. Wanting her son to read and write in Serbian and to know about our Serbian culture, she recruited her friends and relatives, including my father Danilo and my uncle Nikola, as well as other professionals in the Serbian community to become Serbian school teachers. She advocated for parents to bring their children, especially those born in the United States, to Serbian school each Sunday. She endlessly created lesson plans and photocopied books to prepare the resources necessary to teach students about our language and history.

Soon, Serbian school thrived, with attendance increasing to large numbers – many of you in this church were students in her class. She continued teaching for decades, long after I had graduated from Serbian school. Even today, I hear from her former students telling me about the impact my mother made in their lives as a teacher. The other day, as I cleaned out a cabinet in my mother’s house, I found about 20 Serbian grammar books that she used to create her lesson plans. Over 25 years after she stopped teaching, she still kept those books in hopes that she could teach children Serbian again.
I could share many more examples that reflect my mother’s traits and values. But, as I reflect on my mother’s life, I am confident that she made a significant contribution to the Serbian community and to the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chicago. She leaves this world knowing that the people around her are better for her presence in their lives. She gave all of herself to her community, its children, and her own family. Everyone should aspire to lead a life as fulfilling and rewarding.

Mama, I love you and will miss you.

Vjecna njoj Pamjat.