MLADENOFF, George Ivanov - February 18, 1931 - October 25, 2020
It was a usual Saturday. Some letters were mailed and the week end papers were bought then a short drive before a return to the house for the usual light supper and television programs.
George excused himself from the table, reclined on the sofa and closed his eyes to listen.
Sometime later that evening, holding his wife's hand, George passed away.
Left behind with more than fifty-five years of memories, Aldona, his "Sputnik", travelled through life with him. Together they had three children, Jana (Ian Crocker), Gosho (Pauline) and Pando Georgiev (deceased).
Their sole grandchild, Nikolas Alexandre Crocker lives in Australia. George was born in the village of Mosomiste, Bulgaria.
In the late 1920s his parents had fled from conflict in Terlis Dramsko, a strong hold of Bulgarian spirit in Southeastern Macedonian.
It was during the Second World War that he saw the communist takeover of Bulgaria and the abdication of Bulgarian independence to the Soviets.
He escaped his enforced internment in the northern mountains in winter and began his self imposed exile in a Greek refugee camp.
Arriving in Canada, he enrolled at Jarvis Collegiate as a mature student improving his English while working in odd jobs. For ten years he saved money, determined to attend university and fulfill his father's dream. In Vancouver, his first year studies were Political Science.
After advice from a favoured Professor, who reflected the ethos of the times, that "no one with your ethnic name will ever get elected" he switched to the Faculty of Pharmacy in Toronto.
He was a pharmacist who spoke the many languages of his clients on Danforth Avenue.
To improve his Italian he spent time in Florence with his new family. His views about the power of language to build understanding were long established and eventually, when the children were older, were responsible for their enrolment in one of the few French immersion schools in Toronto at the time.
A committed pacifist, he wanted all people of Bulgarian heritage to know, understand and take pride in their 1500 years of history. For seventy years he wrote articles, published a magazine "Macedonian-Bulgarian Review Vardar" and in 2003 started the online magazine "Macedonian Tribune".
Cremation has taken place. Interment of ashes and a memorial will take place at a later time.
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