Obituaries

MICHAEL M. KUNZ age 73, of Chardon passed away December 23, 2019 at Tri-Point Medical Center surrounded by his loving family and friends. He was born October 27, 1946 in Cleveland. Mike retired from the City of Mentor after 30 years of service. He was an avid classic car and hot rod enthusiast. He also enjoyed hunting and the outdoors....

ALFREDO A. “FRED” FINOMORE SR. age 92, beloved husband of the late Priscilla and former husband of the late Rae; loving father of Linda Finomore (husband Mike Koeth) and twins Victor II (wife Debra) and Fred Jr.; devoted grandfather of Victor Jr (wife Emily), Brandon (wife Jacci), Marisa Pretorius (husband Anees), Fred III and the late Joseph and great grandfather...

BRANKO F. POGACNIK age 90, beloved husband for 61 years of Marusa (nee Hren); loving father of Maruska Coffelt (husband Frank), Tatjana McKinley (husband James) and Matthew; devoted grandfather of Matthew (wife Nadine), Andrew and Luke Coffelt, Alex (wife Alicia), Domenic (wife Samantha), Claudia and Nicholas McKinley and Kane Pogacnik and great-grandfather of Maja, Andrew, Matthew, Valentina, Emily and Layla;...

CYNTHIA LOU JOHNS (nee Coverdale), aged 69 years, beloved mother of Michael Gardner (wife Diane) and the late Brian Johns, cherished sister of Deborah Jackson and the late David and Thomas Coverdale, fond aunt, grand-aunt and friend to many. Prayers of Christian Burial Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019 at the funeral home at 4 PM. Family will receive friends to pay...

DRAGO MILOVAN, age 76, passed away on Dec. 21, 2019. Drago was born in Croatia and came to Cleveland in 1966. He lived most of his life in the area. Drago was a compassionate and friendly man and had a great sense of humor. He loved nature and enjoyed photography, reading, walking in the parks, fishing and traveling with his...

Josef Lah, age 79, entered into eternal life on December 20, 2019 in Chardon, Ohio surrounded by his loving family after a long illness. Josef was born January 15, 1940 in Mala Vas, Slovenia to the late Joseph and Ana (nee Zupancic ) Lah. Josef immigrated to the United States in 1958 and lived in Cleveland and Willoughby Hills before...

J. ROSS HAFFEY, JR. age 81, beloved husband for 43 years of Marcia (nee Swiger); loving father of Brian (wife Debra), Timothy, Dennis, Christian and the late James R., III (wife Susan); devoted grandfather of Ashley Fox, Connor, Maggie, Jaime, Olivia, Spencer, Anson, and Ella and great-grandfather of 3; cherished son of the late James Ross, Sr. and Mary Edith...

Joan L. Karnosh, a long-time resident of Shaker Heights, passed away December 12, 2019. She was 93. Joanie grew up on Parnell Road with her two sisters, Pat and Inky. They reveled in the neighborhood as children, climbing trees, exploring the local woods and fields before neighboring houses were built. She attended Shaker Schools and Laurel Upper School. She excelled...

SUSAN NOVAK (nee Kopcak) age 98, beloved wife for 47 years of the late William; loving mother of Donald (wife Evelyn) and Joyce Sabula (husband Timothy); devoted grandmother of Mark (wife Dianne), Christopher (wife Kristi), David (wife Barbie), and Loree Gambatesa (husband Darren) and great-grandmother of Jonathon, Adam, Connor, Caden, Matthew, Bryan, Nicholas, and Madison; cherished daughter of the late...

FREDRIC WALTER JOHNSON, aged 94 years, beloved husband for 63 years to Rose (nee Albert), dear father of Mark, James and the late Douglas, loving grandfather of Madison and Ian, cherished brother of Gordon (deceased) and Dorothy Broz, fond uncle and great-uncle.

The Long Ranger rides again. But these days he’s riding on the ground delivering Meals On Wheels.

During...

MARISA L. MASIELLO (nee Liuzzo) age 59, beloved wife for 33 years of Ronald; cherished daughter of the late Giuseppe and Nunziata “Nancy” (nee Gullotti) Liuzzo; dearest sister of Nino Liuzzo (wife Maria Rose), Maria DiCenso (husband Fred), Zina Mroczka (husband Jeffrey) and Nunzio Liuzzo; dear aunt, great-aunt, and cousin of many.

Marisa was born in Italy on July 29,...

BRYAN L. SUMRADA age 68, loving father of Matthew (fiance Jillian) and Dan; cherished son of the late Phillip and Patricia (nee Windham) Sumrada; dearest brother of Jack (wife Juanita); beloved uncle of Diane Tamburello, Richard and Barbara Sumrada and great uncle of 3. U.S. Army Veteran.

Bryan was born on June 4, 1951 in Euclid and passed away on...

GLADYS PHILLIPPA SMITH (nee Ellerker), aged 98 years, beloved wife for 65 years to the late Elwood T., dear mother of Neal E., Phillippa M. Wilkerson (husband Dennis) and Melanie J. Biebrick (husband Dennis), loving grandmother and great-grandmother, fond sister of the late Gwendolyn Fettinger. In lieu of flowers, contributions suggested to the Cleveland Society for the Blind, 1909 E....

MARK A. LIOTTA age 56, beloved father of Hannah; cherished son of the late Richard S. Liotta and Jean (Conor); former husband of Janice Fritsche; devoted brother of Richard (wife Nancy) and Laurie Hinton (husband Stephen); loving uncle of Raymond and Randy (wife Courtney) Prosen and great uncle of 4; treasured nephew of Patricia and Paul Hodapp and the late...

HELEN L. VITELLO (nee Kleindienst) age 89, beloved wife for 65 years of the late Phillip; loving mother of Richard (wife Kimberley), Michael (wife Gloria), Anthony (wife Mary), James, and Lorraine Drewa (husband Paul); devoted grandmother of Phillip, Anne, Mackenzie Gross (husband Joseph Nawrocki), Austin, Zoe Whetstone, Madison, Cassidy; great-grandmother of Phillip (fiancé Meleena Countess) and Olivia and great-great-grandmother of...

Pave Smolic, 71, of Cleveland, passed away suddenly on Saturday, Dec. 14. He was born Jan. 22, 1948 in Slunj, Croatia.

Pave was the proud owner of Smolic Tire which he opened in 1995.

He is survived by his loving wife, Kate; his children: Zdenko (Carrie), Zdenka Smolic-Hughes (Daniel), Milan (Stacie), John (Tina) and Stanley (Junelynn); his grandchildren: Justin, Nicole...

JOHN E. KARIDES, aged 91 years, beloved husband for 66 years to Anastasia (nee Stratigos), dear father of Emmanuel (Linda), George (Georgia), Theodore (Kimberly) and William (Lisa), loving grandfather of Nicholas, Sara (Nathan Phillips), Mia, John, Anastasia, Anastasia and Zoe, cherished great-grandfather of Callie, Noah and Ethan, devoted son of the late Emmanuel and Theodora (nee Milano), fond brother of...

KATHLEEN ANN CHAPIN (nee McEnally) age 69, beloved wife for 43 years of Douglas Chapin; loving mother of Wendeline (husband John) Bolakowski and Daniel; devoted grandmother of Michael Bolakowski; sister of the late Ronald McEnally; and daughter of the late Kathleen McEnally.

Kathy was a beloved Wife, Mother, Sister, and Friend who brought bold and vibrant life to her family...

EVELYN M. FIORELLO age 72, cherished daughter of the late Angelo and Katherine (nee Geiger) Fiorello; dearest sister of James, Florence Sirca, Raymond and the late John, Richard “Babe” and Carl Fiorello; dear aunt and great-aunt of many.

Evelyn was born on November 1, 1947 in Cleveland and passed away on December 8, 2019. She was a resident of Willoughby...

ELSIE J. LJUBI (nee Zele) age 90, beloved wife of the late Anthony J. Ljubi; loving mother of Nancy (husband Bruce) Junda, Susan (husband Robert) Gallagher, Charles deceased (wife Robin) and Thomas (wife Michele); cherished grandmother of 16 and great-grandmother of 15; devoted daughter of the late Charles Zele and Mary (nee Vesel); sister of the late Dorothy Zele and...