Lubie (Ljubica Suzana Lovric) passed away June 5, 2016, in Pullman Regional Hospital while under expert palliative care. A memorial gathering of friends and family will be held at Circles of Caring Adult Day Health in Pullman on June 22nd at 2:30.


Lubie was born on January 19, 1921 in Crikvenica, Yugoslavia [Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes] to Josip and Ljuba Brnjac and immigrated to Canada (Vancouver, BC) at the age of 15. Her formal education was limited to elementary school in Yugoslavia and one year of elementary education in Vancouver. Her parents were hardworking people of modest means; Josip Brnjac was a successful fisherman and provided for his wife and three children with his gillnet boat Amelia B, named for her younger sister (Smiljka). Her brother Mike (Mate) fished with his father on that small vessel. Her interest and skills led Lubie to attend a commercial seamstress school where she acquired a life-long passion for sewing. She gained employment with a private seamstress who served as both a cultural mentor and teacher who helped her master English, build her self-confidence, and nurture her interest in sewing. Lubie made dresses and blouses for herself, family members and friends for many years thereafter. She was especially busy with sewing projects in the extended aftermath of WW II, sending many packages of medicines, household supplies and clothing to relatives in post-war Yugoslavia under a relief program involving subsidized postage for Yugoslavia established by U.S. President Harry S. Truman after President Josip Broz Tito defected from the Soviet Bloc. One of her proudest moments came when she and her husband were invited by the Yugoslav consulate to take part in President's Tito's visit to Los Angeles (hosted in part by John Wayne) in October of 1971.


Lubie married her husband Nick (Nikola Petar Lovric) in Vancouver in 1941 and immigrated to San Pedro, Calif. where they resided until his retirement in 1971. She had one child, Nicholas P. Lovrich, Jr., who graduated from San Pedro High School and went on to Stanford University to play baseball, ultimately completing a PhD degree in Political Science at U.C.L.A. and serving on the Washington State University Political Science faculty for 34 years. Lubie was an active member of the Yugoslav-American Club of San Pedro (now the Dalmatian American Club), of which her husband was a founding member. She was heavily involved in post-war relief fundraising for Yugoslavia, and became a naturalized citizen of the U. S. in the early 50s. In the mid-1960s Lubie began planning for a return to the "Old Country" [stari kraj] upon retirement. She and Nick, a commercial tuna fisherman and union leader in the ILWU Local 33 Fishermen's Union, returned to Crikvenica in 1972 and renovated the Lovrich family home in the village of Sopaljska where she lived until Nick passed away. Nick and Lubie greatly enjoyed entertaining guests at their home, and many lifelong friends and relatives from Canada, San Pedro, and Pullman would come visit them in Crikvenica and be treated to Nick's barbeque specialties and Lubie's wonderful Croatian traditional cooking. They made many friends over the course of their lifetimes, and extended a genuine form of warm hospitality to those friends. Shortly after her husband's death Lubie moved to Pullman to live near her son and daughter-in-law Katherine. While in Pullman Lubie enjoyed walking her loving dog Jackson daily, from her home on Brandon Drive to Dissmore's Market and back. She also enjoyed going to the Lovrich cabin on Jeru Creek north of Sandpoint for mountain air, huckleberry picking, and outdoor meals often shared with John and Ardith Pierce (Lawrence, Kansas). As her dementia deepened Lubie benefitted greatly from the care provided at Circles of Caring Adult Day Health where she attended five days a week and formed very close bonds with the staff and other program participants. As her need for care increased Lorraine Fulfs at Bella Vista Adult Family Home and David and Tito Kipelian at Archadia Drive Adult Family Home became her primary caregivers, and close family friends Jim and Ruth Self provided additional care and support for Lubie as her physical limitations increased.


Lubie was preceded into death by her brother Mate Brnjac (Vancouver, BC) and her sister Smiljka Morris (Fort McMurray, Alberta), and by her husband Nikola [Miko] (Crikvenica, Croatia). Survivors include son Nicholas Lovrich and daughter-in-law Katherine (Ackerson) Lovrich of Pullman, Wash., granddaughter Nichole R. Lovrich, JD of Great Falls, Montana, and nephews Sheldon Morris, MD of San Diego, Calif. and Chester Morris, MD of Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, BC.


In lieu of flowers, memorial donations are appreciated to Circles of Caring Adult Day Health at 588 SE Bishop Blvd., Pullman WA 99163. Kimball Funeral Home & Crematory has been entrusted with arrangements.