Remembering my dad, JOSEPH MICHAEL ERJAVEC, JR., age 82, of Sagamore Hills, who passed away Thursday, April 4, 2024. My dad, Joseph M. Erjavec, Jr., was the softer of my two parents.  My mom was the strict one who tried her best to keep me and my brother Michael out of trouble, while Dad occasionally undermined those wishes by such things as introducing us to George Carlin's record FM & AM. When my mom told me "No, you can't go to that concert," and I already bought a ticket, my dad went with me.  My dad worked at the Maple Heights post office and never took a sick day, earning him the Cal Ripken award at his retirement.  He also enjoyed long distance running for a handful of years, going on ten mile runs to train for four marathons that he completed in Cleveland and in Washington, D.C.  My dad was a veteran who spent almost a year in Vietnam.  He didn't speak of it often, but when he did, he told me about the sadness of war.  When I became a young adult and moved out on my own, I treasured my postal chess games with him.  He taught me chess during the Bobby Fischer era, and we played games that took up to two years through the mail. We loved their visits to Minnesota to stay with me, Melissa, and Ephraim and to see our extended family here, and we enjoyed visiting them in Ohio.  My mom and my dad were married for just shy of 50 years. We knew them as The Bickersons in ode to how they regularly communicated around us, but despite that discomfort, they loved each other deeply and they took great care of each other.  In the last ten years of my mom's life, my dad had the demanding service of helping her as her health slowly declined due to her autoimmune disease (scleroderma).  I seldom heard him lose patience while he took care of her and drove her to doctor visits.  After my mom's passing in 2017, we kept in touch with weekly phone calls and a visit from me most years.  We still played chess, but we often enjoyed Scrabble, watching game shows and sports on TV, and playing poker with some of my brother Michael's old friends.  Besides the love of chess, my dad's legacy is his kindness.  While my grandfather was a very hard man, my dad deliberately chose to be a loving, patient, and kind parent.  I am so grateful to have had him as a role model!  Joe is survived by his son Joseph F. "Joe" Erjavec (Melissa); by two grandchildren, Ephraim Erjavec and Zephyr Crews-Erjavec, and by four siblings John Erjavec (Barbara), Eileen Krejny (William), Mary Lu Bednarsky (Raymond), and James Erjavec (Nina). Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph M. and Lucille Erjavec (nee Toth), his beloved wife of 49 years, Nicoletta "Coletta" (nee Milicia), and by his son Michael Joseph Erjavec. Friends may call at THE FERFOLIA FUNERAL HOME 356 W. AURORA RD. (OHIO RTE. 82) SAGAMORE HILLS FOR VISITATION THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2024 FROM 4-7 P.M. Funeral  Friday 9:30 a.m. at the Funeral Home, Mass of Christian Burial St. Barnabas Catholic Church 10:00 a.m.  Entombment Nativity Blessed Virgin Mary Mausoleum at All Saints Cemetery.  As my mom and dad were Christians and believed in Jesus' message of providing for the hungry and sick, I am requesting that donations be made to either Doctors Without Borders or World Central Kitchen. To allow all who loved Joe to grieve together, a livestream of his Mass of Christian Burial will be available at https://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/99745 .

Doctors Without Borders, USA
P.O. Box 5030, Hagerstown MD 21741
Tel: 1-888-392-0392
Web: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

World Central Kitchen
Web: https://wck.org/donate