Help Lay Daniel and Mira to Rest With Love and Respect

Hello, my name is Megan Petrovic.

I’m reaching out today with a heavy heart, asking for your kindness to help give two wonderful people — Daniel Talovic and Mirjana Mira Zivkovic — the dignified funeral they deserve.

Daniel and Mirjana were devout Orthodox Christians who believed deeply in the importance of life, family, and faith. In our religion, it is a sacred duty to bury our loved ones quickly and respectfully.

Right now, that duty is being threatened.

We’ve been told by the City that because “time is ticking,” they plan to cremate Daniel and Mirjana — even though it goes directly against their faith and their final wishes.

Not being able to bury them has already been devastating — spiritually, emotionally, and morally.

The thought that they could be cremated by default because we can’t afford a funeral in time is horrifying.

Daniel and Mirjana were not just family friends — they were my godparents, and they helped raise me with love, wisdom, and kindness that shaped my life.

They were incredibly humble, generous, and full of heart — even when they had very little, they gave everything they could to others.

In their later years, Daniel and Mirjana faced heartbreaking challenges:

They lived on government assistance, struggled without medical support after their drug cards were revoked, and survived in a Toronto Community Housing unit infested with bedbugs and mold.

Despite it all, they held onto their faith and their hope.

Daniel passed away on March 29, 2025, after suffering a heart attack — triggered by the stress of being called into a City office and told his financial support was being cut.

Mirjana, left completely alone and heartbroken, moved in with my family. She tried so hard to arrange a funeral for him, but she passed away just two weeks later, on April 11, 2025, without being able to fulfill his final wish.

When we asked the City for help — submitting full proof that Daniel and Mirjana had no assets and negative $4,788.05 in their account — we were denied all assistance.

The City told us they had “too much money” to qualify.

The funeral home helping us has been incredibly kind and honest. But even a basic funeral costs over $15,000 per person — something we simply cannot afford.

Now, we are being told there is no more time.

Unless we raise the funds urgently, the City will proceed with cremation.

We are asking for your help to raise the funds needed to finally give Daniel and Mirjana the respectful Orthodox Christian burial they deserve.

Every single dollar will go directly toward their funerals.

If anything remains, it will be donated to organizations that protect the dignity and rights of vulnerable seniors.

No donation is too small.

Even $1 brings us closer to honoring them properly — and stopping this from ending in something they never wanted.

Please help us give Daniel and Mirjana the goodbye they deserve — one rooted in dignity, faith, and peace.

From the bottom of my heart,

Thank you.

– Megan Petrovic