Zvonimir “Zvonko” Markota
March 7, 1924 – April 3, 2022
In Memoriam
Zvonko Markota was born in Rakitno, in Herzegovina.
Life was hard in his part of the country, so in 1951 he moved with his mother, his young sister and his brother to Pleternica in Slavonia.
Early in 1952, in Požega, he met Janja Papac, and before the year was out they were married. Their marriage lasted 69 and a half years. Once, as we were driving him home after a meeting, he told us, “Janja is my most sacred treasure.”
In 1959, at odds with the government of the day, he decided to leave for Austria, and a year later he came to Canada. His family, Janja, Vesna, Tomislav and Marijan, followed him to Vancouver in 1962. Raising children in a foreign land and a foreign society, keeping Croatian customs alive and staying proud of who you are was not always easy. Zvonko worked hard at it, and he succeeded.
He was a well-known Croat not just in Vancouver but on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia and across Canada, and he made friends and acquaintances both inside the Croatian community and far beyond it. In 1967 the Markotas were among the first families I got to know after arriving in Canada; Vesna, Tomislav and Marijan were still small children then. In all the years since, our family has always found sincerity, a warm welcome and real warmth in the home of Mrs. Janja and Zvonko.
Zvonko was a man of sound mind, always ready to share a piece of good advice. He never lost his positive outlook and backed his friends in everything they set out to do. He was a modest man with no hunger for glory. Honesty mattered to him: when he gave his word, that was final, with no going back. His Christian faith sustained him all his life. Even in his later years he would not miss Mass. In bad weather, even in snow, he always found a way to get to church, and Tom and Marijan, naturally, were always there for him. During the pandemic, when no one could go to church, he and his Janja followed Mass on TV (online), and they were very disappointed when that stopped. When Vesna arrived at her parents’ early in the morning, she would find him already up and about, prayer book in hand.
He was very active in Vancouver’s Croatian community. He was involved from the very beginning in building our Immaculate Heart of Mary church, together with Fr. Ambroz Budimir, and he played an active role in the effort to buy the Cardinal Stepinac land in Richmond. For many years he was a member and president of the parish council, and he was an active member of the Society of Friends of Matica Hrvatska.
Zvonko was the oldest member of HSS Vancouver, and its president. He also served as president and honorary president of the Main Committee of HSS Canada. We celebrated his 95th birthday in the hall of the Ivan Gundulić branch. Even at that advanced age he made every effort to come to meetings and share his thoughts and advice. If Vesna was busy, Bepo and I would drive him there, and along the way he would tell us about his youth, his army days and, of course, Croatia’s past. A few days before his 98th birthday he called Bepo to talk about current events and politics in Croatia and Canada. Those were his favourite topics!
He was a patriot, devoted to the Croatian community and, of course, to his family.
His passing closes a chapter in the history of our Croatian community in Vancouver.
Dear Zvonko, for every kind word and for all you did for our community, on behalf of all of us: THANK YOU!
May he rest in the peace of God!
Ljiljana Cecic