We all came here today to remember and pay tribute to our friend Milenko, Menjo, Gospon Markovic, however we used to call him.

His death came so suddenly that even now I feel it is not real and that he would just appear from somewhere and cheer everybody up as he used to do. His early departure from this world made a big void in lives of all of us that gathered here today.

I had known Milenko for about 20 years. We met at the beginning of his, what he used to call "second America", referring to his second long stay in the US that ended recently by his premature death. At that time he lived in a townhouse he rented in Montgomery Village, near by where I used to live. Since then we grew to be very close friends. He became a person in my life who I could really rely on, with whom I could discuss anything, seek advice and who would be there to share with me both, the good and difficult moments in my life. I know that I am probably not the only one in this room who could say the same. All major events in my life, including my and my kids' birthdays, my slavas, didn't happen without Milenko being present. He was simply considered a part of my family. In my house there is still a chair we all call it "Milenko's chair". Yet only rarely we talked about his issues, his problems and dilemmas. Looking back I regret I wasn't more proactive when his life and health was concerned with my advice and concrete suggestions.

Milenko didn't have kids of his own but many of our children knew him very well. For them he was their pal, teacher, the go to person for any questions they would have, about school, love and all other things related to everyday life. One New Year's Eve he was in a role of Santa Claus, the role that symbolized so well his big heart and ability to easily communicate with children. With his openness, desire to help and enormous knowledge he gained the respect of our children.

I can’t help but seeing a few common features in the life of Milenko and Nikola Tesla. They both represent brilliant Serbian minds born on today’s Croatian soil. They both lived last decades of their life in the US and died alone in their rooms. Yet, there are several substantial differences. Milenko left us too soon and didn't get chance to enjoy his well deserved retirement for which he was waiting so eagerly. His main work and the peak of his creativity and contribution to science happened while he was at the Rudjer Boskovic Institute and the University in Zagreb. His enthusiasm and creativity in science somehow faded away quickly after he came to live in the US for the second time. I felt he was never been able to accept the fact that his favorable environment to create and live fruitful life, as he knew it, vanished forever.

Another key difference was that he lived alone but was definitively not a solitary man like Tesla. Milenko was an outgoing person. He was always up for heading to a gathering, party, concert, restaurant, jazz club, as he liked very much places where there were people to interact, discuss and simply enjoy life. Many of you here I actually met through Milenko. I believe he had the broadest circle of acquaintances and friends in this area. He was somehow able to connect different groups of people that had got formed in the greater Washington DC over the last few decades and who mostly originated from the territory of former Yugoslavia.

We all know Milenko for his bohemian life style and schedule. He was definitively a night owl person. It was always tough going to work after an evening out with Milenko when we would then continue talking late through the night. Yet, I will miss those moments very much, those late night chats when he was on his territory talking with confidence and knowledge about nearly any subject. I will never forget an anecdote describing so well his bohemian schedule. It was shortly after he had moved into his townhouse. I was helping him with moving and arranging furniture when he decided he needed some in-door plants to warm up the house appearance. Needless to say it was close to midnight and the only open store was the near by Giant. So, there we were in a nearly deserted store looking for the plants that would fit his new home. A few late shoppers were rushing to get their bread and milk while Milenko was gauging his plants as if it was just an early afternoon.

I lost my best friend but I am grateful he was an important part of my life; a memory of him will be with me for as long as I live. Milenko believed in God as a superior being and in Serbian traditions, and with that I would like to say in the end: "Neka mu Gospod podari spokoj dusi".

Aleksandar P.