Milka Bauković Radivojević, the oldest living person in Serbia, passed away in Belgrade on 23 January, at the age of 110 years, 352 days.
Bauković was born Milka Ercegovac in the village of Papići, Austria-Hungary (now Sisak-Moslavina County, Croatia), on 5 February 1915. Her father, Mile Ercegovac, and her mother, Inđija, raised her alongside her younger brother, Branko, who was five years her junior.
In 1940, on the brink of the Second World War, Milka married Dušan Bauković, a skilled hatter from Okučani. Their wedding took place at the church in Jasenovac. After Dušan’s untimely death on 8 May 1945—the final day of the war—his grave remains unlocated. Milka inherited his trade, continuing the legacy of his craft.
Together, Milka and Dušan had two children: a son, Nebojša, born in 1941, who tragically passed away from a heart attack in 1987; and a daughter, Dušanka Božić, born in 1945. Dušanka was born three months after her father’s death, never having had the chance to meet him. In 1983, she married again, to Sava Radivojević. They got married in Belgrade, where they moved in 1990. She was widowed in 2003.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Milka Bauković during this difficult time.
