Mrs. Jelena Pendic

September 22, 1928 - November 29, 2019

Hilde Ziegler was born in Cologne, Germany in 1928. During World War II, bombs destroyed her family’s home; the government sent children to live on farms for safety; the family moved to Detmold after the war. A soldier in the Yugoslavian army, Momcilo Pendic was taken prisoner and put in a POW camp in Germany. He later married Hilde, and in 1950, took her to Chicago and gave her the Serbian name, Jelena. Although she was always homesick for Germany, she adopted and enjoyed her new homeland and became a US citizen. She loved being a mother and it showed in everything she did for her daughters, Nada and Mara. She told them fairy tales in Germany, and with tailoring skills she learned in Germany, made clothes for them and their dolls. She was very thoughtful, kind, helpful, and generous – people always said she’s so sweet and likeable. She enjoyed going to the German movie and coffee klatch with her friends. She kept her sense of humor and good spirits until the end, when she succumbed to ovarian cancer. Her daughters will always treasure her love and their memories of her. Funeral Service 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, December 3, 2019 at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Monastery, 32377 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Libertyville, Illinois with Rev. Djuro Krosnjar presiding. Interment St. Sava Cemetery. She was a member of Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church. Memorials to the church would be greatly appreciated. For more information please call 773-545-3800 or visit Jelena's memorial at www.MuzykaFuneralHome.com