Nada D. Chitkushev

Nada D. Chitkushev passed away on February 14, 2024, in Boston at the age of 91. Born on February 28, 1932, in Yugoslavia, as the youngest child of seven in the family of a prominent grain merchant and business owner in the town of Lipljan, Kosovo, she had a very pleasant and memorable childhood that she cherished all her life. After completing elementary school in her native town, she continued her high school education in the town of Prishtina, and later moved to Skopie, today North Macedonia, where she graduated from the Commercial and Trade Academy.

After the communists took power in Yugoslavia in 1944, Nada’s life changed considerably. Like many other similar families, hers was declared “enemy of the people,” a term used to denounce political or class opponents, resulting in investigations, trials, arrests, property confiscation, and various forms of discrimination and harassment. At the age of 27, one of her five brothers was killed, while two other brothers escaped to England and Italy, respectively. Her elderly father, age 68, and two remaining brothers were imprisoned for a total of 12 years. Her mother and sister were the only members of Nada’s family, besides her, who were not arrested, but they ended up continuously being followed and regularly called for “informative interrogations” by the secret police until the late 1960s. Nada wanted to study medicine, but despite graduating top of her class, the authorities did not allow her to enroll in medical school, and she had to opt for a career in economics and banking.

In 1955, she married Todor Chitkushev, an electrical engineer from Skopie, with whom they had 2 children and a 56-year-long marriage. The same year, she became one of the initial employees of Jugobanka – a newly formed federal financial institution responsible for coordinating major international investments in Yugoslavia. In 1963, after the devastating earthquake in Skopie, she transferred with her family to Belgrade, Serbia, and joined the Jugobanka Headquarters, continuing with her successful banking career managing the international investment division until her retirement in 1989.

After her younger son moved to the US in 1987 for graduate studies, followed by her older son, Nada started visiting them on a yearly basis. In 2002, when her granddaughter was born, she decided to move to Boston with her husband and spent the last two decades of her life close to her family, enriching them with her presence, warmth, and wisdom.

Nada enjoyed her life in the US very much and didn’t take the freedoms and liberties that came with it for granted. She loved her family and was especially attached to her grandchildren, profoundly dedicated to their well-being, upbringing, and education.

A deeply religious person, she lived every day of her life according to the values of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. At the same time, she firmly believed in modern medicine and meticulously followed doctor’s advice. Over the years, she was blessed with very good health, but in August 2023, she developed serious heart conditions, forcing her to spend most of her time in the hospital. On November 20, 2023, she had a transcatheter aortic valve repair surgery and a pacemaker implanted. Regrettably, several hours after the successful surgery, she had an ischemic thalamic stroke. During the three-month long rehabilitation, she was unable to recover from the stroke, despite her very strong determination and truly outstanding care of the medical teams at Brigham and Women and Spaulding hospitals in Boston.

She passed away on February 14, the birthday of her beloved late husband Todor, with whom they were married for 56 years and whose presence she had heavily missed over the last 13 years. She was two weeks shy of her 92nd birthday

Throughout her long life, Nada touched in a very special way the lives of many people around her, who will keep her memory alive. She is survived by her sons Stefan and Lubomir, daughter in law Irena and grandchildren Nadia and Theodore, nieces Maria and Aleksandra, nephew Alessandro and other numerous relatives and friends in Boston and throughout the world.

Visiting hours will be on Tuesday, February 20, from 5 - 8 pm at the Lehman Reen McNamara Funeral home, 63 Chestnut Hill Ave in Brighton, Ma.

The funeral service will start at 11 AM on Wednesday, February 21, at Lehman Reen McNamara Funeral Home (63 Chestnut Hill Ave , Brighton, MA https://www.lehmanreen.com/), with a visitation hour and a religious service at 12 PM noon. The interment will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery, 990 LaGrange Street in West Roxbury (http://www.holyhood.com/), followed by a meal for the attending family and friends. The family can be contacted at chitkushev@gmail.com.

For online guestbook and obituary: www.lehmanreen.com

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