Marko Babic

Marko Babic, 87, of Crest Hill, died Sunday, June 5, after a brief illness.

Marko was born in Sveti Rok, Croatia, but was forced to leave at the end of World War II.  After a few years in refugee camps in Italy, he came to the United States in 1949.  He lived first in Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he worked for a time as a cook in a coal-mining camp, and then settled in the Joliet area.

In 1957, he married the former Mary Dianni, who survives him.  In July they would have celebrated their 59th anniversary.

Marko was employed for 35 years by U.S. Steel and, later, the City of Crest Hill.

He was a founding member and longtime pillar of the Croatian Cultural Club, to which he remained dedicated throughout his life.  Most Friday nights he and Mary could be found there, enjoying friends, polka music, and parsley potatoes.  A devout Catholic, Marko was a parishioner of St. Anne's Catholic Church for many decades.

Marko loved to putter around the house; there were few spaces he couldn't improve with a hook, shelf, fan, or clamp.  In euchre he took no prisoners, and in chess he routinely put his youngest daughter into checkmate within five moves. At home he cooked, cleaned and shopped with gusto.  He grew tomatoes, string beans, and roses.  He spoke three languages and liked to discuss history, follow the news, and talk politics, always ending with a friendly handshake.  After the adversity of his younger years, he built a full life in a new country.  He helped his neighbors in any way he could, and all who knew him experienced his warmth and kindness. He will be deeply missed.

He was preceded in death by his brothers, Dujo and Josip, of Joliet, and siblings George, Ivka, Ankica, and Madza, all of Croatia.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by children James (Mary) of Berwyn, JoAnn (CJ Braaten) of Minneapolis, Mark of Aurora, Dan of Brooklyn, NY, and Mary Jean (Lou Rosenfeld) of Brooklyn, NY; grandchildren Joseph, Anne, Nicholas, and Max Babic; Jacob and Marco Braaten; and Iris and Nathaniel Rosenfeld; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Marko’s life will begin on Thursday, June 9, 2016 with a visitation at Tezak Funeral Home, 1211 Plainfield Road, Joliet from 9-10:30 a.m. then driving in procession to St. Anne Catholic Church in Crest Hill for a Mass of Christian Burial to be held at 11:00 a.m. Interment to follow at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville.