Djurdjica Jean Haskakis (Jeannie), 72, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, passed away Monday, December 16, 2024, at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus.    Born in Voca Donja, Croatia in 1952, Jeannie was the daughter of Ivan and Danica (Herega) Bolcevic.  She immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio with her family when she was nine.  She graduated from Collinwood High School in 1972 and attended Kent State University where she majored in business.  Jeannie worked for Ameri Trust Bank in Cleveland for 10 years before marrying and moving to Columbus, Ohio, where she worked for Bank 1 (now JP Morgan Chase).

Jeannie suffered from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at the age of 3 and had dozens of surgeries over the decades, but she refused to let the disease define her life.  She learned how to SCUBA dive and obtained several certifications during diving vacations at various Caribbean locations that included Bonaire, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Honduras.   Once she was forced into disability retirement, she developed a love of gardening that provided therapy for her pain. During the last five years of her mother's life that she stayed with Jeannie, mother and daughter spent many days tending 2 small gardens and various flower beds, expressing plans to expand their plant collection even as their aches and pains increased.  Over the last few decades, she was able to reconnect with her aunts, uncles and cousins in Croatia and met new cousins in Sweden.  More recently she enjoyed various river and Mediterranean cruises across Europe, which also allowed her to spend more precious time with her European relatives.  Meanwhile she developed an extended "family" in Cleveland, very close family friends Jackie and Tony as well as friends from Ameri Trust, Tere, Eddie and Patty and Jackie, and developed a special bond with Tere and Eddie's daughter Brianna.  In Columbus she enjoyed dinner periodically with her local friends, Pam, Wilming, Deb, Jan and John, and she reveled in being the youngest of her husband's friends, Madeline, Myron and neighbors Nick and Sandy, and Larry.  Her most treasured time, though, was spent with her younger sister, Diane, with whom she spent many nights by phone.  She also had a soft spot for stray cats and took in many during her adult life In addition to her parents, Jeannie was preceded in death by her brother Steve.  She is survived by her husband Nick Haskakis, sister Diane Furlong (Ed), niece Sherrie Bolcevic and nephews Stevie and Shawn Bolcevic as well as her beloved aunts, uncles and cousins in Croatia and Sweden.

Family will welcome friends will be received 10:00 AM till time of Funeral Liturgy at 12 noon at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Life-Giving Fountain in Martins Ferry, 314 N Fifth Street, Martins Ferry, Ohio, followed by a funeral service at 12:00 AM with Fr. Constantine Makrinos officiating. Burial will follow at the Holly Memorial Garden Mausoleum at 73360 Pleasant Grove Road, Colerain, Ohio.

A celebration of life memorial is planned on January 26 at the Lucky Dragon Restaurant, 2800 North High Street, Clintonville, Ohio.

To leave the family online please visit www.wilsonfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations be made to www.helpfightra.org with an acknowledgment sent to email nmh48@aol.com.  Checks may also be mailed to:  Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation, Help Fight RA, 8815 Conroy Windermere Rd. Suite 309 Orlando, FL 32835.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation, Help Fight RA
Help Fight RA 8815 Conroy Windermere Rd. Suite 309, Orlando FL 32835
Web: http://www.helpfightra.org