Ljubisa Dragin

Ljubisa “Lou” Dragin at age 90 while seeking to go “home” in his final few months, arrived at his permanent resting place on Sunday, July 16, 2023. Ljubisa was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia on May 3, 1933 to Kosanka Matic, a loving mother and well-respected elementary school teacher, and to Veselin Dragin, a singer for Radio Beograd and Prvo Beogradsko Pevacko Drustvo, and a deacon of the Serbian Orthodox Church serving at the St. Andrew Chapel in the Royal Palace in Dedinje. As a young child in Dorcol, Ljubisa was musically gifted playing the violin until one day during WWII when he found a “pen”. This booby-trapped bomb exploded in his hands requiring a partial amputation of three fingers to his left hand. He was told he would never play the violin again. Determined as he was, Ljubisa miraculously taught himself to play both the guitar and accordion later in life, always joyfully accompanied by his booming bass voice. Ljubisa passed his love of music and playing of instruments to his children and grandchildren. He formed a tambura band with his children, affectionately known as the “Dragin Five,” that played at many church functions in Chicago. His sons and grandsons regularly play with tambura bands at various church functions to this day. One of his neighborhood buddies growing up in Belgrade was +Cune Gojkovic, and Ljubisa would jest that Cune’s mother was an even better singer than the legend himself. Due to the circumstances of the war, Ljubisa grew up quickly and guided his younger brother, Gane, into the business of selling cigarettes on the streets at age seven. This lucrative “business” allowed him to buy a horse at the age of ten. He lovingly named the horse after his first crush, Vida, who would graze in the Kalemegdan Park while Ljubisa was in school. After receiving a spanking from his father for “wasting” his hard-earned money on the horse, his grandfather helped to buy a horse-drawn cart that would serve Ljubisa’s subsequent business endeavor of delivering wood and coal for the next few years. This entrepreneurial idea earned enough money for him to feed his family throughout the war. Being an avid lifelong reader and a hardworking high school student at Belgrade’s Prva Muska, he followed in his father’s footsteps to study theology at Belgrade’s Theological Faculty. During the first student excursion outside of the country to Greece, Ljubisa did not return with his classmates; rather, he and a few others began their ensuing journey to freedom and away from communism. After a short time in Thessaloniki, he moved to Paris, France, where he continued his studies in Theology at St. Sergius Institute. After a couple of years in search of more freedom, he flew over the Atlantic Ocean settling in Barberton, Ohio, sponsored by family members related to his maternal grandmother. In 1957, he joined the US Airforce and was eventually, stationed in “China for three years”, as he would proudly proclaim with his thick Serbian accent. Upon returning to the States, he started the next chapter of his life in the Chicago area where he worked countless odd jobs. As a seminarian in April of 1961, he was asked to sing responses at a church slava in Libertyville, Illinois at the monastery of St. Sava. It was there that he met Slobodanka “Boba” Curcic, who was the Kuma of the slava, in place of her recently deceased father. One year later, they married. Living in Zion, Illinois with Boba’s mother, Draginja “Baka” Petrovic Curcic, Ljubisa and Boba had four children Misko (1963), Nada (1964), Vera (1968), and Aco (1970). As a family through fellowship and community in the church, they attended many of the Serbian Orthodox churches and a monastery in the area including St. Nicholas in Waukegan, St. Sava in Milwaukee, St. Sava in Libertyville, and eventually, decided to become members at the Holy Resurrection Cathedral in Chicago. Wherever Ljubisa attended church, he quickly engaged in singing as a pojac or a choir member. In Waukegan, he organized a children’s choir that sang responses in Church Slavonic every Sunday without notes or music. This choir was among the first children’s choirs in the United States. When the family settled at Holy Resurrection Cathedral, Ljubisa and his children joined the Serbian Singing Society Branko Radichevich Choir where they responded to Sunday Liturgies and performed at many choral concerts. This legacy continues through multiple church choirs in the Serbian Singing Federation where his descendants actively participate both by singing and directing in Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Lake Forest. A few years after Boba’s passing in 1984, Ljubisa retired down to North Port, Florida, where he resided for over 25 years. Although in retirement, Ljubisa could not rest, and almost immediately became a supporter of the St. Sava Church community in North Port. While a member, he played many volunteer roles in the community including church president, choir participant, and custodian to name a few. In addition to helping his home church community, he also assisted many other churches by donating candles that he made; one of the many hobbies that he enjoyed in retirement. In April of 2022, Ljubisa was recognized by the Eastern American Diocese of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Bishop Irinej with a Gramata acknowledging his years of service and dedication to the Serbian Orthodox Church, especially in the establishment of the parish in North Port. In his final years when dementia, bladder cancer, and diabetes struck, he spent a year in Libertyville with his eldest son and family and the church community of St. Basil of Ostrog in Lake Forest, and the final four years with his daughter, her family, and the church community of Boston at St. Sava Cathedral. He is survived by his four children, 15 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Cherished father of Misko (Lily née Lazich), Nada (Mike Savatic), Vera (Fr. Aleksandar Vlajkovic), and Aco (Sandra née Milinkovich); dear grandfather to Simo, Aleks, and Mara Dragin; Marko (Tanja née Djurkic), Mimi, Tali (Arupesh RoyChowdhury), Kaca, Kiki (Andja née Potkonjak), and Stevo Savatic; Djordje, Slobodanka, Milica, Sava, Luka, and Draginja Vlajkovic; fond great grandfather of Danilo and Gavrilo RoyChowdhury, and Mihailo Savatic; dear brother of the late Miodrag “Gane” Dragin, brother-in-law to Radmila Radmanovic Dragin, and uncle to Natacha Dragin. He will be missed by friends and family across the United States. May his memory be eternal. Funeral Service (Opelo) to take place 11a.m. at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery 32377 IL-21, Libertyville, Illinois. Interment at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cemetery to follow. For more information call (773) 545-3800. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Ljubisa’s kumce who is in need of medical assistance. bit.ly/LindsayCampbell

Ljubisa Dragin

May 3, 1933 - July 16, 2023