Antonia Vrdoljak

Ana (Antonia) passed away peacefully at home on July 9, 2021, at the age of 89. She was predeceased by her husband, Ivo, and leaves behind her devoted son Peter, nieces and nephews in the Lower Mainland, and siblings and other family members in Europe.

Ana was born in Slovenia in 1932, immigrating to Canada in 1955 to build a new life with her husband and young son. They settled in Mount Pleasant and moved to Kerrisdale in 1975, where she remained until her passing. She spent her working life in the hospitality industry, serving in many of the city's finer hotels and restaurants. Her attentive and courteous manner, as well as her fluency in five languages (English, German, Slovenian, Croatian, and Russian), made her an asset to management and customers alike. In Ana's later years, wanting to be closer to home, she worked at a Kerrisdale bakery. Her 40+ years in "the hood" made her instantly recognizable, whether tending her flower beds, going on power walks, working out at the community centre, working at the bakery, or shopping on 41st, there was always a wave and a chat for her neighbours. While she's not been mobile for some years, people still stop her son to ask about her.

Always the beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, and friend,

Ana will be missed by many.

Funeral Mass: Thursday, July 22, 2021, 10:00 AM, Immaculate Heart of Mary Croatian Church, 3105 E 1st Avenue, Vancouver. Interment to follow: Ocean View Burial Park, 4000 Imperial Street, Burnaby.

Peter wishes to extend his admiration and gratitude to his mother's caregivers (Karen, and especially Lebi) for their respectful support and care of Mom