Nick Mallinger

Nick Mallinger was born in Kikinda, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia), to parents Josef and Katharina (Hussak) Mallinger on September 20, 1927. He was raised in Serbia, bilingual in Serbian and his native language, which was a dialect of German. He and his wife were both from the ethnic Germans known as Danube-Swabians. He completed high school in Serbia; he also lived in St. Martin, Austria for a period of time after World War II. He has one sibling, an older sister, Katharina who lives in Germany. He exchanged wedding vows with Margaret Wittich in St. Martin, Austria on May 28th, 1949. Shortly after the two were wed, they came to the United States, with Margaret's parents and grandmother, to begin a new chapter in their lives. In the early 1950’s, Nick and his wife proudly became naturalized citizens. Nick and Margaret had two children, a son, Robert; and a daughter, Greta. As a young family, they called Chicago, Illinois home. Nick’s lifelong career was as a boilermaker / building maintenance man. He particularly enjoyed his last jobs working for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and for Intel in California. In 1979, Nick and Margaret relocated to San Jose, California as proud grandparents to be near their daughter Greta; son-in-law Stanley; and grandchildren Katie and Libby. Following Nick’s retirement in 1992, the two moved to Windsor, California in 1993 to be near their son Robert; Robert’s wife, Alice; and grandchildren Nicolle and Eric. In 2004 the two moved to the Portland, Oregon area in 2004 to be near Stan and Greta. Margaret passed away in 2008. Nick will be remembered as a true jack-of-all-trades handyman. He could fix or install anything – be it electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, you name it he could do it; he enjoyed being involved in projects and doing that kind of work. He was also a musician: he played the accordion, organ, and saxophone. While living in Chicago, Nick enjoyed gathering with other musicians to play as a group for their friend's parties. He will be remembered as a loving husband, father, brother, grandfather ("Opa"), great grandfather and friend. Nick is predeceased by his loving wife Margaret, and his parents Josef and Katharina. He is survived by his daughter, Greta Kopec (husband Stanley); son, Robert Mallinger (wife, Alice); sister, Katharina Lengenfelder; grandchildren, Katie Mason, Libby Opsahl, and Nicole and Eric Mallinger; and great-grandchildren, Kendall Opsahl, Blake Mason, and Audrey Mason. A private ceremony and celebration of Nick’s life will be held. Please visit Nick’s Internet memorial and make an entry into the online guestbook at: www.skylinememorialgardens.com . Remembrances in lieu of flowers may be made to the charitable organization of your choice.