Olga Angelich

Olga Angelich passed away peacefully in her home on June 29, 2020 with her family, friends and priest, Father George Gligich at her side. She was welcomed into Heaven by her late husband Cecil R. Angelich, her beloved daughter Carole, her brother Mitchel Erbez and his wife Maxine, her brother in law Risto Pestorich and her nephew Chris Erbez.

Olga was born on October 14, 1923 in Jackson, California to Kosto and Jovanka Erbez. She later moved to the Central Valley with her family and graduated from Central High School. After graduation Olga enrolled in Fresno's 4C Business College and earned a degree in accounting. Her sharp mind and excellent organization skills were quickly identified and she was given the role of Office Manager at the Fresno Guide, a local newspaper at the time. She worked there for twelve years until she decided to take a job with a new company named Donaghy Sales in 1969.

When Olga arrived at Donaghy Sales, a beer distributor in Fresno, the company was little more than a year old. Like all new companies they were experiencing the early growing pains of keeping up with customer demand while building out a competent management team. Olga was hired as office manager and she was everything they were looking for...and more. She immediately took control of the office administration and became involved in all aspects of the young growing business. Her sharp accounting skills, work ethic and intensity completely transformed the work environment. Although she often times came across as overly direct in her communications she was also a sincerely compassionate person who never forgot anyone's birthday and often times personally baked a cake for her co-workers. She was an amazing combination of intelligence, strength and grace. Many in the company actually referred to her as "mother" and just like a mother she was often the one they turned to for resolving a conflict or providing direction. Her decisions were respected and accepted by office staff, truck drivers, mechanics and salesmen alike. The popular saying was "when in doubt...go ask Olga". That statement was true for over 40 years at Donaghy Sales.

Although Olga was known to be all business at work, she had an incredible soft spot for young children. Whenever a co-worker brought their child to work it was mandatory that they come and see Olga. That wasn't a company policy but more the desire of the child. Olga always kept her office stocked with lollipops and cracker jacks. A favorite pastime of hers was to take the child to the copier so that they could make a copy of their hand. Hundreds of copies were made over 40 years of different children's hands.

After her retirement, Olga enjoyed traveling the world and spending time with her family. She was very proud of her heritage and was always quick to share a story about her culture.

Olga was also very involved with her church and her community. She was a devoted member of the St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Church where she taught Sunday school for many years. She did the bookkeeping there for over 35 years and particularly enjoyed their annual festival and Christmas celebrations. In addition to her many contributions to her church, Olga was a member and past president of the Soroptimist Club.

Olga is survived by her loving sister Vera Pestorich and her nephew Larry Pestorich, nieces Sandra Changenpeel, Diane Nisbet as well as numerous other cousins, grand nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank her compassionate caregivers, Grace Greco, Danlyn Aspiras and Chris McCollum for their love and assistance. As well as the Donaghy Family for their friendship and support over many years.

Due to the Covid-19 restrictions, there will be a small private service for her family at Belmont Memorial Park. A service will be held at the St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Orthodox Church at a later date.

Remembrances may be made to the St. Peter the Apostle Serbian Orthodox Church at 3502 North First Street, Fresno, CA 93726