Novica Milojic

Oct. 14, 1928 — April 26, 2017

Novica Milojic passed away on the night of Wednesday, April 26th at the age of 88. Born in Vasilj, Serbia to Vukadin and Voislava but raised in Belgrade, Novica received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Belgrade. After years of teaching and holding many key positions at factories and utility complexes throughout Serbia, Novica helped found and run IMT in Knajzevac, Yugoslavia. He later emigrated to the United States to work at Bechtel in San Francisco and, subsequently, at several other firms throughout the US as a mechanical and structural engineer, including CVI and General Electric.

Novica was an avid, master-rated chess player who loved telling old jokes as much as he loved hearing new ones. Although he always considered himself a Serbian first and foremost, he fully adopted Columbus, Ohio as his second home and spent most of the last fifty years of his life there prior to moving back to San Francisco to be with family. Throughout retirement, Novica and his wife spent many years organizing and facilitating humanitarian aid, shipping medical goods and instruments—everything from aspirin to ambulances—to countries of the former Yugoslavia as well as other parts of the world.

Nevertheless, Novica’s greatest joys were his beloved wife of 62 years Nadezda and their loving daughter Marija Milojic-Blair. Novica is also survived by his son-in-law Richard Blair, his sister Letovka Petrovic of Nis, Serbia, nephews Zoran and Zvonko Petrovic and their families, as well as an extended and muchloved family throughout Serbia.

Services are to be held at 11:30 Tuesday morning (May 2nd) at the Serbian Cemetery in Colma, California. There will be a service on Monday evening at 7:00 (May 1st) at Duggan’s Serra Mortuary in Daly City, California. Flowers may be sent to Duggan’s Serra Mortuary prior to 3 pm on Monday.