It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dragutin Pavlovic on Friday, May 9, 2025 at the age of 87.

Affectionately called Dragan (or Charlie) he was greatly loved by his wife of 61 years Smilja, daughters Lily (Kevin) and Olga (Bosko), granddaughters Anastazija and Aleksandra as well as Kumovi and friends.

Dragan spent the early part of his life in Serbia and Slovenia. His family had been separated during the Second World War, and unfortunately, they would never all be reunited again. Despite life’s challenges, he spoke of fond memories of growing up in Slovenia. Because he had spent his teen years living on a lake with the Juian Alps as a backdrop, he was very athletic and grew up learning to swim, ski and row.

He graduated from technical school in Slovenia where he studied metallurgy and developed his signature writing style: a perfectly formed blueprint font. In Canada he worked for many years as a shop foreman where he was responsible for thousands of doors and curtain wall frames that went into many hotels and restaurants in the GTA and beyond. His attention to detail and high standards ensured a quality-controlled product.

He was a kind, generous man who had many talents, loved to laugh and was fun to be around. He was a gifted photographer whose photos had a strong sense of composition as well as being technically solid. And he loved to build and create things.

He spoke multiple languages and was knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics and was always asking questions and learning about the world.

He enjoyed simple pleasures such as planting a vegetable garden and growing and tending to all kinds of plants. In January his to do list for the spring noted: plant tulips.

His hobbies included playing chess and he was a chess club member for many years. He didn’t play competitively often enough to maintain a FIDE chess rating, although at one time it was 1600. His analytical mind also liked Sudoku, and up until relatively recently he would work on and successfully complete at least one Sudoku puzzle per day.

His health declined over the past few years, but particularly so in the past few months.

The family wants to thank all the staff at West Lincoln Memorial Hospital, Juravinski Hospital and the Hamilton Satellite location who helped care for “Charlie” over the past few months. Your kindness and compassion greatly helped us deal with what was a difficult time for us.

The funeral visitation and funeral will take place at: York Cemetery and Funeral Centre.

Dragan loved flowers, so flowers are welcome. Donations are also welcome to either of the following:
• Alzheimer Society of Ontario
• Alzheimer Society of Niagara Region

Dragan will be missed.