Nancy Lee (Evans) Vukovich

Nancy Lee (Evans) Vukovich passed away peacefully in her sleep in the comfort of her home to be with our Lord on December 11, 2024, at the age of 86 years, after a courageous 11-month battle with cancer.

Nancy was born on April 2, 1938, to Louis and Louise (Evans) Dozier at White Cross Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Nancy was a twin, but her brother Bruce did not survive, nor did her mother. Unable to raise Nancy on his own, Louis put her up for adoption. Her maternal grandparents, Frank and Christie Evans, adopted Nancy on October 29, 1940. As Frank and Christie got older, Christie’s younger brother, Jim Evans, and his wife, Violet (Penrod) Evans, raised her until she turned 18. She attended Sacred Heart High School in Columbus and graduated in 1955.

Shortly after graduation, she met a young Serbian immigrant named Dragan Vukovich at a mutual family friend’s house. They were married on August 17, 1956, at Linden Lutheran Church in Columbus. Years later, they renewed their vows at St Stephen of Dechani Serbian Orthodox Church, where Nancy and Dragan were both original founding members in 1968. Even though she was not Serbian by birth, she converted to the Serbian Orthodox faith, fully embracing the church, her fellow parishioners, traditions, and customs. She was also a Circle of Serbian Sisters member, often baking Serbian pastries and cooking cabbage rolls (sarma). She and Dragan celebrated 61 years of marriage before his passing in September 2017.

Nancy had a wide variety of interests. She loved country music, especially Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond, Lee Greenwood, George Strait, and many others. She loved craft fairs, Longaberger Baskets, reading, tending to her garden, and her beloved Ohio State Buckeyes. Just about every Saturday in the fall, you could find her in front of the TV, cheering for her favorite football team. Even as she began to lose her eyesight to myopic degeneration in the early 2000s, she still insisted on watching the games. She rarely missed a televised game and was able to attend her last Buckeye game in person in November 2015. She was such a big Buckeye fan that she convinced Dragan to decorate their master bathroom with Ohio State wallpaper and scarlet red flooring.

After being a stay-at-home mother for many years, she began working outside the home as a title clerk at Krieger Ford in Columbus for over 30 years until her retirement in 2003.

She loved all animals, especially dogs. As adults, she and Dragan had two dogs, Bo and Vukie, both Shih Tzus. Shortly after Dragan and Vukie's passing, she rescued an adorable Yorkie named Mickey in 2018. (Perhaps he was the one who rescued her!) He rarely left her side and was her constant companion until the end.

In the late 1990s, Nancy discovered she had three half-siblings: Bob Dozier, Benny Dozier, and Billie Graham. She was amazed at the similarities that she and her sister Billie shared. She enjoyed spending time with them when possible.

While she loved her children wholeheartedly, she adored her grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. They meant the world to her. She had an incredible bond with them and always looked forward to seeing them. She went out of her way to make them feel special, never forgetting a birthday, sending cards out for Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and sometimes just because.

She was an incredible mother. She sacrificed so much for her two children, Diane and David. She was the kind of mother whose kids knew she always had their backs. Her love never wavered; it was unconditional, as only a mother could show.

She was supportive of the ones she loved- accepting, tolerant, nonjudgmental, and open-minded. She loved to bake, especially at Christmas time. Her date pinwheels, seven-layer cookies, and Serbian kifle cookies were often gone before they could even cool down from the oven. She tried to hide them from her family, but they were always discovered. She loved the holidays, but her favorite was Christmas. She enjoyed having the entire family at their house and always went out of her way to ensure everyone's favorite dishes were prepared.

Nancy was quiet about the sufferings she experienced in her life. Never knowing her biological parents or her brother Bruce, she endured many losses and disappointments. She recently expressed how difficult it was to lose both of her cherished daughters before her demise. She also often expressed her regret that she never got to see or hold her second-born daughter, Carol Ann, who lived just 27 days, all of it in the NICU.

Nancy had a strong, quiet faith and trust in God, only complaining of her pain when asked about it. Even during her chemotherapy treatments, she remained strong, constantly fighting, and eager to take whatever roadblocks were thrown her way. She never felt sorry for herself and always tried to look at the little things in life that kept her smiling. She left us just as quietly as she lived her life.

Nancy is survived by her son, David Vukovich, of Columbus, Ohio; her son-in-law, Joseph L Vance, of Gahanna, Ohio; her daughter-in-law, Susan Todd Vukovich, of Columbus, Ohio; her sister Billie Graham of Groveport, Ohio, her grandson, Joseph M Vance (Lydia), of Delaware, Ohio; and her granddaughter, Christie Brown (Nick), also of Delaware, her granddaughter Kait Vukovich of Garfield Heights, Ohio, her great-grandchildren, Eli Brown, Emma Brown and Eleanor Vance.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Dragan Vukovich; her daughters, Carol Ann Vukovich and Diane Vukovich Vance; and her brothers, Benny Dozier and Bob Dozier.

Friends and family are invited to calling hours on Friday, December 20, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation Service at 6699 North High Street, Worthington, Ohio. A Pomen prayer service will immediately follow the calling hours. A traditional Serbian Orthodox funeral service led by Father Aleksa Pavichevich will be held on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at 10:00 AM at Stephen of Dechani Serbian Orthodox Church, 1840 Cassady Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43219, followed by a graveside committal service at Greenlawn Cemetery, 1000 Greenlawn Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43223.

In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes gifts in Nancy's memory to The Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research, The Arthur James Cancer at THE Ohio State University, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), or St. Judes Children's Research Hospital.