Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

April 26, 2024

CHARLOTTE- It is with great sadness, yet hope in the Resurrection, that we share the news of the loss of our beloved, Predrag (Dragan) Stojkovich, who passed away peacefully on Friday, April 26, 2024, at the age of 94.  

Predrag was born on September 13, 1929, in Negotin, Serbia (the former Yugoslavia) and was the only child of two educators, Milutin and Milica (nee Popović) Stojkovich. Growing up during WWII, with his father called away to serve in the army, required him to grow up quickly and shaped his strong, industrious, and resourceful personality. 

When he was only a youth in his early teens, he sold his prized bicycle, to buy food and spare parts needed to repair their building’s failed water heater.  As there were no mechanics or parts available, he tinkered with it and repaired it himself. This natural curiosity and mechanical aptitude lead him to pursue and obtain a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Belgrade. 

After World War II, he and his mother immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, where they joined his father who had been granted U.S. citizenship after having fought with the allies. He met his future wife of 60 years, Bosiljka (nee Mićović) Stojkovich, another recent émigré from Serbia, and they established roots and started a family. Predrag earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology and spent the majority of his professional career as a mechanical engineer for General Motors in the Electro-Motive Division where, among his many other contributions, he was an inventor of U.S. Patent No. 5,668,428 for an Electric Motor Commutator.

Predrag was an active member of the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago, Illinois, and served in various capacities on the Church Board, including Treasurer and eventually as its President.  

Happy family vacations, and later retirement, were spent primarily in Naples, Florida, where he made many wonderful, life-long friends. Predrag was a loyal, devoted, and hard-working son, husband, father and friend, and was always ready to lend a hand. He will be greatly missed by his daughter, Annette Stojkovich-Chinn and her husband, Joe; son, Goran Stojkovich and his wife, Kimberly (nee Kempf); his six grandchildren, Nathan, Alexander (Alex), Maya, Andrew, Aleksandra (Sasha), and Luka. He will also be missed by his sister-in-law, Nada Mićović-Porter and her husband, Todd; nephews and nieces, Dragan (David), Zlata (Cica), David, Katarina, Ljubiša, and Jelena. 

We pray that he will be reunited in our Lord’s Heavenly Kingdom with his beloved wife, his dear son, Mio, his parents, and grandmother Anka Popović (nee Janković), and other dear friends and relatives who preceded him in death. May his memory be eternal!

A funeral service will be held on Monday, May 6, 2024, at 1:00 PM, with viewing beginning at 12:30 PM at the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery in Libertyville, IL. All are welcome to a luncheon immediately after the service – details to be provided at the gravesite.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be offered in memory of Predrag to “Lifeline Humanitarian Charities”, 444 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1200 Chicago, IL 60611 (https://www.lifelinechicago.net/donate) or to the “Preserve Hilandar Foundation”, PO Box 245343, Brooklyn NY 11224  (https://preservehilandar.org/).

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204, (704) 641-7606; and Sveta Gora Christian Orthodox Funeral Home, 3517 N. Pulaski Rd., Chicago, IL 60641, (773) 588-2200.

Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com