Mirjana Pinjagic

Mirjana Pinjagic was born November 20, 1950 in Tuzla, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia-Herzegovina) to Jovan and Janja (Ilic) Sremac. In 1969, she graduated from Drago Vidosevic High School in Bosnia. Mira met her future husband Zaim Pinjagic at school, and they were married on June 30, 1970, a union that endured for 55 years. Their son, Nedzad Pinjagic, was born in June 1972.

Mira worked as a travel agent from 1970 to 1992, when war began in Bosnia. Their home was not safe, and so they fled, relocating to Denmark and Germany before coming to the United States on Christmas Eve 1997. While in Germany, she had attended nursing courses at Maltese Hilfs-Dinst, receiving a diploma in 1995. After a year living in Houston, Texas, they moved to Portland in 1998. Mira spent 19 years working at Goodwill services helping others. She retired in 2017.

She is survived by her husband Zaim; grandchildren Anthony and Hailey and their mom Traci; and her companion dog JJ, who never left her side. She was preceded in death by her only son Ned in 2023. Mira’s heart suffered considerably when Ned passed, and the family knows she will be so happy to see him again in the afterlife.

Mrs. Pinjagic was a devoted mother and grandmother who loved to laugh and make others happy. She spent her time reading, gardening, knitting and crocheting, and watching Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. She also loved to take JJ for walks and spoil her grandchildren.

She will be missed.

Private family services will be held.

Po nasoj sobi polegla tisina, mekana I tiha I topla kao pokrivac u zimskoj noci. Kao da si I ti tu da sutimo. To sto sutimo nije zbog nedoststka rijeci, nego nedostatka potrebe da kazemo bilo sta. Tisinom smo najcesce govorili ono najbitnije. Na trenutak kao da sam osjetio tvoje prisustvo. Bilo je cudesno, kao dasak mirisa koji je usao u sobu, donio ljepotu I nestao. Miris rukama ne mozes dohvatiti ni zaustaviti ni sacuvati. Ali sve ono lijepo sto smo imali ugradilo se u mene, postalo dio mene, I to mi niko ne moze uzeti. Mi smo jos davno, davno znali da ce nasa ljubav trajati zauvjek. I sad je osjecam u nasim tisinama, Ti u svojoj, a ja u svojoj. Nekte andjeli cuvaju dok ja nstignem tamo, zasluzila si to svojom nesebicnom dobrotom. Pocivvaj u miru moja ljubavi i znaj da sam uvjek tu blizu.

There was silence in our room, soft and quiet and warm like a blanket in a winter night. It was as if you were there to be silent. The fact that we are silent is not because of the lack of words, but the lack of need to say anything. In silence, we often said the most important things. For a moment, it was as if I felt your presence. It was wonderful, like a waft of fragrance that entered the room, brought beauty and disappeared. To save. But all the beautiful things we had became embedded in me, became a part of me, and no one can take that away from me. We knew a long, long time ago that our love would last forever. And now I feel it in our silences, You in yours, and I in mine. Some angels are watching over me until I get there, you deserved it with your selfless kindness. Rest in peace my love and know that I am always close by.