Milan "Laki" Laudanovic
Born on June 17, 1962.
To father Budimir and mother Kovinka (née Pešović).
Passed away on July 16, 2025.
Who are the people that can change your perspective on a situation, a topic, and often life itself, with just a few sentences?
What do the people whose company everyone seeks look like?
Who is the person you sometimes had to tell the next day, after a long debate and often reluctantly: "You were right"?
Laki was one of those people. An ambassador of integrity, stubbornness, and charm!
From his very first day, he breathed the air of Lazarevac—heavy from the mines, yet strong and resilient like its people. Laki's life path was much the same. Born to parents from the countryside, the son of a mine worker and a stay-at-home mother, he seemed no different from his peers, yet fundamentally, he was completely unique.
Imagine a 15-year-old traveling across Europe all alone today! Now imagine that happening in 1977, without any digital gadgets. Laki was that child. He traveled, played the guitar, and was constantly thirsty for everything new—ideas, people, the world! Upon coming of age, he had already earned the title of a world traveler and an urbane young man.
In 1985, during a time in the former Yugoslavia when salaries were high, healthcare and education were virtually free, and with a guaranteed job waiting for him at the Kolubara mine (as a mining student and the son of a Kolubara worker), he made the bold decision to shape and build his life in Chicago.
From then on, Laki was often known only by his nickname. Charming, cheerful, and hardworking, he quickly built a circle of Serbian friends, but perhaps even faster, he forged friendships with Americans and people from many different parts of the world.
A 23-year-old young man, without any pedigree in the US, he achieved the American dream. He became a highly recognized builder and a sought-after employer. Although "difficult" and very headstrong when it came to negotiations and deals, throughout his entire life he carried the essential thread of fairness and honesty. He filled every day with his virtues—diligence, freedom, and originality.
He knew how to add flavor to his busy Chicago workdays by riding his motorcycle or one of his classic cars. As the years went by, this was increasingly accompanied by rounds of golf with friends, leaving a signature stamp on his lifestyle.
Golf symbolized his friendly and cheerful spirit, as well as his incredible ease in making connections. His motorcycle, on the other hand, was his best friend and compass, his alter ego, and his strongest bond with the American nature he adored.
Biker, golfer, charmer!
He touched all of us, both here and in Serbia, through a deed, a story, or a gesture. He wove a piece of himself into each of us, and that is exactly why he will continue to live on through us.
Lord, welcome him into the Kingdom of Heaven.
Childhood and youth
Memories from the early days, growing up in Lazarevac and taking the first independent steps through a world that Milan explored with such passion.
Serbia
An unbreakable bond with his homeland, family, and friends who were always in Laki’s heart.
USA
Decades of work, creativity, and enjoyment in Chicago days, on golf courses, and along endless roads on a motorcycle across America.
Funeral
The final farewell to a man whose energy touched many lives.
At the same time, he was bid farewell from two different places – from Chicago and from Lazarevac.
He was seen off with a speech and his favorite song, "And Now, Goodbye."
