Anne Hermina (Berlakovich) Pallo, 91, passed away peacefully with two of her daughters by her side, Friday, June 1, 2018 at Tanglewood Trace. She was born September 23, 1926 in South Bend, Indiana to the late John and Helen (Varga) Berlakovich. Preceding her in death were her husband of 64 years, John Pallo, her brothers John and Frank Berlakovich, and her sister Mary Berlakovich.
Anne is survived by her daughters, Susan (Carl) Baxmeyer of South Bend, IN. , Sandra (David) Reno of Ft. Myers, FL.
, Sharon (Kenneth) Wagner of Osceola, IN. , Jean (Jeffery) Boocher of South Bend, IN. , and son John T. (Roxanne) Pallo, Jr. of Granger, IN.
She is also survived by nine grandchildren; Steve, Nic, Kate, Boonie, Sara, John, Julianna, Mark, and Shawn. Also, ten great grandchildren; Hannah, Taylor, Carter, Grace, Emma, Beatrix, Deckard, Lucy, Emie, and Booker. After graduation from South Bend Riley High School, Class of 1944, Anne worked at the South Bend Water Works.
On July 21, 1951, Anne married John Pallo. She remained busy raising their five children while John was supporting the family by working long shifts as a firefighter and often working second jobs. In the mid 1970’s Anne and John moved from South Bend with their two youngest children to Granger, IN, where they opened Pallo’s Bait Shop on State Rd.
23. Anne was truly a partner with her husband in that successful business. Anne ran the Bait Shop while John was out hand-picking the bait on his days off from the fire department.
It quickly became a favorite place for many area fishermen to get their bait. After her husband retired from the South Bend Fire Department in 1978, they were able to spend the best half of the year in Indiana and then escaped the snow and cold to Avon Park, Florida where they enjoyed the other half of the year. Anne was able to pursue several favorite pastimes, including Bingo, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, and euchre.
She enjoyed Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and often new the answers before the contestants. Anne listened every morning to JT’s WSBT radio show, and won many times by calling in the correct answer to trivia questions. In 1989, they fully retired to Florida enabling them to spend more time with their daughter Sandra and her family in Ft.
Myers. They also traveled back to South Bend for extended periods each summer to be with family and friends. Anne enjoyed attending many of her grandchildren’s sporting events, graduations, and weddings.
She was a member of the Croatian Women’s Club and looked forward to their annual luncheons. These were some of the most enjoyable years of her life. Anne was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of going to Europe in 2005 with her brother Frank and his daughter-in-law Carolyn.
She spent time with some of her distant relatives in Austria and saw many of the most famous sights throughout Europe. She spoke of this special trip many times. Anne was proud of her family and truly enjoyed being with and talking about them.
Anne had a deep loyalty and passion for Notre Dame and the Chicago Cubs. A large Notre Dame flag was proudly displayed in front of their retirement home on every game day. It brought many supportive words…and a little good-natured teasing from fans of other teams.
Anne’s unwavering support for her Chicago Cubbies was finally rewarded with a World Series Championship in 2016. Many cheered that moment, but few more enthusiastically than Anne. A devout Catholic, her faith was a of comfort and strength.
Anne will be dearly missed by her family and friends. She leaves us with so many wonderful memories of a good, long life. Her family will celebrate her life with a private memorial later this summer.
The family wishes to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the wonderful supportive care provided by Heart-to-Heart Hospice. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Anne’s name may be given to Heart-to-Heart Hospice, Mishawaka, IN or St. Pius X Catholic Church, Granger, IN. Zahoran Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.
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