Vlajko (Walter) N. Osilich fell asleep in the Lord on Friday, July 2, 2021 after a long and blessed life. Vlajko was born on July 14th, 1930, to loving parents, the late Nikola and Darinka Osilich, originally of Trebinje, Hercegovina. He was the third of four children, his siblings being + Savo Osilich, + Lepa Osilich and Nada (Osilich) Matijevich. Young Vlajko had a modest, but very happy childhood in the Clybourn-Fullerton area of Chicago’s North Side. This neighborhood was home to many Serbian immigrants, most of whom remained life-long friends.
Walter was a veteran of the United States Air Force who ultimately became an entrepreneur. He was a locksmith and owned the Ace Door Check and Lock business on Belmont Avenue in Chicago, where he had many Serbian clientele. He married the love of his life, Shirley, on May 29, 1976, and they enjoyed 40 years of marriage together. Walter and Shirley shared many happy times at their home on Eastwood Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood and, later, during their retirement in Leesburg, Florida.
Vlajko was a lifetime member of our Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral Community, and had a deep respect for his Serbian Orthodox faith. Vlajko, as were all his Serbian contemporaries, was baptized on Schiller Street and later married at our current church on Redwood Drive. As a young man, he was a member of the Serbian Singing Society Branko Radichevich, and Vlajko was also a member of the United Serbian Society “Jedinstvo.”
Vlajko’s wish was to establish a fund for the purpose of maintenance and renovation to his dear Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Cathedral.
May his memory be eternal.