Obituary of Stanka Nacova

Stanka Nacova was born Septermber 27, 1914 in a small village in Bulgaria close to Serbia. She married at nineteen and gave birth in 1934 to her only child Ceko who joined his half brother Toshko and half sister Jordana. The family suffered through World World II and the communist occupation afterwards. In 1951, the family and a few relatives escaped by hiking across the Serbian border during a May Day Celebration. She spent 4 years in Yugoslavian refugee and labor camps and then 4 years in an Italian refugee camp in Trieste where her husband died. In 1959, Stanka, Ceko, and Toshko immigrated to New York City. She worked briefly before becoming a grandmother and raising 4 grandsons each born one year apart beginning in 1961 while the sons and their wives ran a coffee shop. She cooked the meals and watched the boys closely as they went to school and played outside the house always sitting by the window making sure she knew everything that was going on. She instilled in them her passion for cooking and gardening. Baba was known for her banitza, baked beans and chicken soup. She was a avid crocheter and gave away hundreds of sweaters, booties and bedspreads. After years of telling everyone she had everything and not to buy her any birthday presents, she unexpectedly asked for a kitten for her 97th birthday. She knew it would keep her busy and make her feel young again. When relatives and especially young children visited, she generously slipped something in their hand and said "Buy something. And remember me." Even without her asking, how could anyone meeting this remarkable lady ever forget her? We will remember you Baba and miss you dearly