Mirko Krklec

“How do you pick up the threads of an old life?” -Tolkien

I realize that I’ve taken that quote out of context. That I’ve somewhat paraphrased the original meaning.

I watched that movie the night before I found out my old friend had passed. I went to bed thinking about what time does to us all. The next day I got a call from my brother that Mick had died. 5 1/2 months prior. We didn’t know.
Our “gang” had no idea.
None of us knew.
Jeff, John, Jeff G, and myself.

I personally hadn’t spoken to Mick in over 2 years, though our last phone conversation, and I remember it like it was yesterday, stretched across 90 minutes on a Saturday night in June. Me in my basement nursing a couple of whiskeys and Mick at his house, enjoying a beer. We caught up on current and past events and laughed like we always did. As little as we spoke over the previous 20 years, we didn’t seem to miss a beat. It was a conversation I’ll always hold dear.

I met Mick in 4th(?) or 5th(?) grade. I don’t remember when. I know we didn’t like each other though. He was a grade ahead. Our older brothers didn’t get along. We were from different ilks.

Jump ahead a few years to high school and we somehow bonded over a neighborhood snowball fight with other kids.

We soon developed a great “best” friendship. We were inseparable during our late teens. Always spending time together. Our early twenties turned into camping trips, countless concerts, parties at his apartment in Cicero, Jeff & John’s in Lyons, and mine in Chicago. My parents loved him and always welcomed him into their homes in Berwyn and Wisconsin.

I’ll miss you old friend.

Prayers and strength to your Mom & Dad, to your awesome brother Rade, and to your cousin Milan. We were blessed to have the time we did with you.

It’s great to see all of these pics up on the website. It’s reassuring to know you hadn’t changed, and that you had always remained close with Milan and his family.

I feel that this is just goodbye for now.

Gregg

Im sorry I could not be there in Arkansas to say goodbye. We grew up together as cousins since we were little. But We grew apart when we got older and went our different ways. We would talk when we would bump into each other at Meijer shopping. Will miss you on Facebook and our little bumps at the stores. I attached some of our pictures when we were little.

First met Mirko through his brother Rade when I was helping his band out with gigs. This was a long time ago, early 80’s and he was just a kid. Always there to help out with band stuff and he and I were always friends and I enjoyed nothing more than being a guest in the Krklec home for dinners and barbecues. Always with a smile, always upbeat and fun to be around. Have not seen him in a long time I believe 1998 when his brother’s band played a reunion show at Metro in Chicago. In 97 I had moved to Los Angeles but we became reunited on Facebook and sent DM’s and teased each other on our posts. Never did get to meet his wife but he seemed very delighted to be married to her and I was very happy for him.
My heartfelt condolences to her and all of his family who I miss a lot. God bless you Mirko, I will never forget you and hope I see you on the other side.
Your pal always,
Andy O

From the person he hated the most ♥️

I don’t remember exactly the first time I met Mirko, but I had heard “stories”. I knew he must be a character, and I was correct. He was a big personality and genuinely loved to be around others. Hanging out with him was no exception. I quickly felt a sibling vibe; relentless teasing and exchanging jabs. I could dish it out and I could take it too.

It wasn’t long after we started dating that Milan made a declaration that everyone in his family liked me (almost everyone). Of course I needed to know WHO, and as Milan laughed at my hyper curiosity, and said “Well if I HAD to pick someone that liked you the least, it would be Mirko.” I knew Milan was F’ing with me, and I was ready to play the game. I would now go out of my way to give Mirko a hard time. Mirko met my challenge, and it was ON. There was lots of eye rolling and literally pushing each other out of the way. A typical text exchange could look like this…

Mirko- “I guess I should send the obligatory Happy Birthday greeting to you 😒, I don't why I bother...”

Me- “Seriously WHAT is your ACTUAL DAMAGE?!?”

And then we would laugh, trade some more jabs, trade I love yous, and hope to see you soons.

I cannot believe that I’m not going to have that from him anymore. It doesn’t feel real and it doesn’t feel right.

Mirko was up for anything and was there for some pretty big moments in our lives. He filmed Milan propose to me. He met us in Mexico which was his first time leaving the country. He flew to California for our nuptials and made his own adventure out of it. It was around that time that he connected with Mona, and he was so smitten and excited. We wanted nothing but happiness for him, and they patiently waited to finally be together after many delays and setbacks. And he could not WAIT for us to finally meet her. He was so proud of his beautiful bride.

Mirko was always wonderful to our daughter Luci. Whether it was hiding eggs on Easter, buying her her first Cotton Candy at a Cubs game, or coming to see her perform in a musical, he was always supportive and interested in what she would be doing next as a young ambitious person. That always meant the world to me, and I don’t know if I ever told him that.

Mirko meant many things to many people. He had a generous heart that loved sharing his passions. You could ask him about his food preparation and watch his face light up as he explained each careful step he took to make sure his dish was the best it could be, and sharing that food was important to him.

Mirko possessed the ability to be a kid again at the drop of a hat. He loved being goofy at the expense of himself and others. He would take it over the top to get the laughs. Doing push-ups to warm up for a bean bag toss? Of course he would. Do a belly flop into a freezing child’s inflatable pool? You know he did. He simply wanted to put people into a silly mood, where no one had to stress about daily life. The goal was just to enjoy the time at that moment.

Learning of Mirko’s passing was shocking and gut wrenching. He was way too young to go. We had so much more fun to be had, and we were all supposed to grow older together. My heart is in pieces when I think of his brother, parents, and wife who loved him so deeply, and also for his friends who were so lucky to know someone as genuine as Mirko. He was a stand up man. He was a hard working man. He was an honest man. And he was a loving man.

Grief has been taking Milan and I on quite a journey. We don’t know when the tears are going to hit or which emotions will come to a head. But what we have decided is that we are going to be spending our time celebrating the life of Mirko and the unique, creative, musical, hilarious and generous human he was. His legacy will live on in our hearts, though our stories, and through our memories; both past and future. He will be with us as we move through the rest of our lives, and that thought is the most comforting of all.

I love you Mirko. And I know you know that. Thank you for being such a meaningful part of my life ♥️