Snezana Turcin

Snežana Turčin passed away suddenly in her home on Tuesday, December 16, 2025. She leaves behind a legacy of love, devotion, and family who will forever remember “Baka” for her warmth, her honesty, her kindness, her cooking, and her joyful spirit.

Snežana was born in June 1951 in Belgrade, Serbia, into a military family. When she was two years old, her family moved to Zagreb, Croatia, the city she always considered her true hometown. She grew up in humble circumstances, but she often said she never lacked love—and she knew it. She spent her childhood on Nazorova Ulica, later moving to Valjavčeva Ulica during her school years. It was there she noticed a handsome young man walking to the nearby corner store, and she fell in love with the boy next door.

Snežana and Josip were married on August 8, 1970. A year later, they welcomed their first daughter, Irena. The couple lived with Josip’s parents, and Snezana formed a deep bond with her in laws. Their second daughter, Martina, arrived in 1977, completing their family.

Snežana worked for many years as a salesperson in a national department store, but her true passion was caring for children. When the opportunity arose, she began working in a kindergarten, where she remained until retirement. The friendships she formed during those years lasted her entire life. Her friends speak of her with warmth and certainty—she will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered as “Teta Snežana.”

In 2021, she moved to Hudson, WI, to be closer to her daughters, son in law, and grandsons. She cherished being a grandmother and having her family close once again. Though she missed her Croatian home and visited whenever she could, her heart was always with her family. She delighted in family dinners and gatherings, playing Dominos and Triple Five, spontaneous visits, and endless hugs from her girls and boys. Did we mentioned she loved cooking for her family?

To everyone who knew her, and those that she just met, she was simply BAKA. All called her Baka. All loved Baka. She was full of life, radiating warmth, joy, and a contagious laugh she freely shared with everyone around her. She was truly young in spirit.

Snežana was a no nonsense woman—honest to a fault. She kept her word, and if she said she would do something, you could trust it would be done. She worked tirelessly, sometimes juggling multiple jobs to ensure her family never went without. Yet she always found time to hug her daughters, always telling them how much she loved them, share a laugh, take them to a park or hiking, or play with them in the snow or on the beach.

Though she married young and didn’t know how to cook at first, she learned quickly. And she learned well and continued to learn until she left this world collecting recipes wherever she could. She loved cooking and baking, especially spending Saturday afternoons with her girls preparing desserts for Sunday dinner. She cooked for her family until the very end; in fact, she passed away with all the ingredients for Croatian čuspajz prepared on the table. Whenever you saw her, she would ask if you wanted something to eat or drink—she always had something to offer.

And offer she did—her heart on her sleeve, her encouragement, her food for both belly and soul. She made sure her daughters, her son in law, and her grandsons knew one thing above all: Baka loved them more than anything.

Snežana is preceded in death by her husband, Josip, and her son in law, Dale, her bother-in-law Zlatko, and sister-in-law Slovenka. She is survived by her daughters, Irena and Martina; her son in law, Ken Steltzner; her grandsons, Neil, Luka (Emalie), Ben, and Riley; her brother Tomislav; her sister-in-law Milica, three nieces and six nephews, and many others whose lives she touched along the way.

Celebration of life for Snežana Turčin will be held on Friday December 19, 2025 at O’Connell Family Funeral Home – Hudson at 6 pm. Visitation will be held prior to the Celebration of Life, starting at 5 pm.