John Miletich

John Steve Joseph Miletich, beloved husband and father, passed away unexpectedly at his home on February 24th, 2021, at the age of 85. He is survived by his daughter, Rosalie.

Born to Magdalena Miletich and John Miletich Sr., in Toronto, Canada, on March 29, 1935, he left Canada at 17 years old and emigrated alone to New York City to start a new life. He earned his high school diploma from Stuyvesant Evening High School in 1956 while working several jobs. He joined the Christian Brothers in 1961.

In 1961, he became a United States citizen. In the same year, he earned his Bachelor of Arts from Catholic University. He went on to earn his Master of Arts in Spanish from Middlebury College in 1966, and served as a middle and high school teacher in New York. He completed his Ph.D. in Comparative Studies in Literature from the University of Chicago in 1973.

While in the Brothers, he participated in the 1963 March on Washington, as well as protests against the Vietnam War in the late sixties.

In Chicago, he met the love of his life, Ann Davis. He left the Christian Brothers on March 15, 1974, and they were married at the University of Chicago’s Bond Chapel on June 22, 1974. John and Ann lived briefly in Zagreb, Croatia, so he could conduct scholarly research. He taught for a year at Indiana State University, then settled in Salt Lake City, Utah, to serve as Professor of Spanish at the University of Utah until 1989.

After Rosalie was born, they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to start family life. He worked at the El Cortez Hotel and Casino until his retirement in 2005. He continued to write and publish after leaving academia.

John was known for his love of languages, literature, and scholarship. He dedicated his scholarly life to the study of the oral tradition in Serbo-Croatian and Spanish epic, ballad, and lyric literature.

John loved to ski, dine out, and travel with Ann. He made lifelong friends in the Christian Brothers and in academia, but was most himself with his wife of 44 years. He showed lifelong devotion to her and cared for her until her death in 2018.

He loved reading John le Carré novels; watching his favorite films, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, or anything featuring Liam Neeson; and listening to Diana Ross and the Supremes, the waltzes of Strauss, and Croatian folk choirs. He treasured those who offered him pastries or donuts.

John contributed to many causes in his lifetime. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to one of the following organizations: American Cancer Society, https://www.cancer.org/ , in honor of his father, John Miletich Sr., and his paternal grandfather, Matthias Miletich Chrnov; and the Alzheimer's Association, alz.org, in honor of his wife, Ann D. Miletich.

Friends and family are welcome to come together virtually to celebrate John’s life at a virtual wake on Sunday, March 28th at 2:00 pm PST (5:00 pm EST) at: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/75045251207?pwd=UnRBTlovbjk3TnppRisrQVZyN3owdz09