Janko Gagaleski

Janko Gagaleski, a fun loving, adventurous, determined man, died Friday, April 14, 2024 at Wellstar Hospital in Augusta, GA. at the young age of 70. He had been ill for the last two months of his life. He was surrounded with love and support from his wife Pleasant (Swedersky) Gagaleski who was at his side. Janko was born, February 14, 1954, in a field on the family farm in the village of Misleshevo, Yugoslavia (now Macedonia) on the outskirts of the city Struga. His parents were Kristina Laboska and Gorge Gagaleski, who both preceded him in death. He was the baby of the family and had two older sisters Vasa Stoshic (spouse: Dobre Stoshic), who lives in Rovinj, Croatia and a sister who preceded him in death, Cveta Gagaleska of Pancevo, Serbia. He was a very loving devoted husband to his wife, Pleasant and loved to make her laugh. They were pretty inseparable and enjoyed being together as much as possible over the 23 years of being together. They liked to combine hobbies and were building a tiny house together off Lake Sinclair in Sparta, Georgia, where they resided with their 9 fur babies that he loved so dearly. His home family included his wife, Pleasant (Swedersky) Gagaleski, 17 years of marriage; his eight cats, Exotic bengals Zimba, Donte, Carolinameows Audi, Wicket Wystri, Thomas OMalley from the Alley, Lady Blue, T McGee, Fu Cat Chew and one dog, Keyla. He was a father of three, Kristina (Gagaleski) Vincent (spouse: Anthony) of Hobart, Indiana, Jason Gagaleski (Hiatt) of Markham, Illinois and Joshua Gagaleski of Warner Robins, Georgia. He was also the stepfather of two, Nathan McGuire (spouse: Megan) of Rolling Prairie, Indiana and Sean McGuire of South Bend, Indiana. Janko is also survived by eleven grandchildren and step-grandchildren, Anthony (AJ) Vincent, Lauren Vincent, Camdon Hiatt, Jaxon Hiatt, Reilly McGuire, Arianna Burks, Levi McGuire, Declan McGuire, Kayden, Brayden and McKenzie McGuire. When not working on the family farm, at the tender age of 8, he was working in the poppy fields where the government would pay his family for his services and worked up to building apple crates in the orchard. Later, he would help his dad, who was a master wood craftsman, cut and lay parquet floors in other people’s houses. He would often talk about his family home, which had a dirt floor, that he had to sweep often. He eventually built his parents a nice house while he was working in the United States. He worked mostly in the manufacturing field as a Maintenance worker or technician. He loved this type of work, as it challenged him. He worked at United Steel in the train yards when he first moved to Indiana. Later, he worked at US Can, Dietrich Industries and Alpha Baking. He always had several projects brewing at home and loved to stay busy. Janko lived life to the fullest. He was adventurous and explored many different activities and sports. As a child, he would swim in the very strong currents of Serni Drem (Black river) in Struga, Macedonia. He and his friends would dive for coins thrown by tourists off the bridge to earn money for ice cream and treats. He later would cliff dive off the cliff overlooking Lake Ohrid at St. John’s church in Ohrid, Macedonia and years later off the cliffs in Italy. He loved anything water related. He was a lifeguard in Indiana at a Hidden Lake and the community swimming pool. He jet skied, water skied, boated and loved to fish. His favorite fishing spot was Trail Creek for salmon. He once took a bet and skied across Lake Michigan from Chicago, Illinois to Gary, Indiana. When not in or on the water he loved to sunbathe, especially at the Indiana Dunes State Park with his friends. Janko’s greatest love was Soccer. He started playing when he was very young in the soccer field in his village of Misleshevo, just down the street from his family home. Most times he and his buddies didn’t have a real ball to kick around, so they would make do with what they could find. His dad disapproved of his playing soccer, but that would did not deter him. After graduating school at the age of 16, and while his dad was working in Germany, Janko was approached by a scout who offered him and a friend a scholarship to play for under 18 team for Roma in Rome, Italy. He was very proud of this and left his home country. He lived and played in Italy for one year, before his dad made him move to the United States. There he joined soccer leagues and played in New Jersey and New York. He was eventually offered the opportunity to play in a tournament in Indiana and he moved there in 1972. Janko played soccer with all his heart and soul. He even got to play with his mentor Pele when he was asked to try out for the Chicago Sting, but they folded before he got to sign a contract with them. That didn’t deter him, however. Throughout his life, he coached youth and continued playing for many years, into his sixties. Janko always believed that every child deserved a good soccer ball and the chance to play. When Janko first came to the United States, in 1971, disco was king. He quickly caught the bug and competed in many competitions, even winning some. He loved the lifestyle and the glam. He also competed in folk dancing in his church dance group. Although the style of dancing was much different from disco, he did it with pride and he loved it. He was very proud of his heritage. He was quite the motorhead. He loved to work on cars and owned a lot of different muscle cars and sport cars throughout his life. He had an associate degree in mechanics from Chicago and worked at a service station back in the 70’s. Janko was always tinkering with something under the hood. He even raced cars at the US 30 Drag Strip in Hobart, Indiana. He and his friends were always souping up something or other to make it go faster. Well, not all memories are good and at one point in his life, he ended up leading the police on a three-state chase, from Indiana to Wisconsin, in his much-loved Camaro. He ended up getting away that day, but when they found out who he was, he got his license suspended for five years. He was a very kind man and more than once stopped to help a stranger with their hood up on the side of the road. He was known to help family members or co-workers save money by working on their vehicles for them. He even enjoyed flipping cars and trucks he would pick up at auction. If he didn’t know how to fix something, he would seek the knowledge of how to do it, until he got it done right. As if all of that wasn’t enough, Janko loved to garden, raise trees and flowers (especially roses), and loved animals. He also enjoyed showing vegetables at the LaPorte County Fair and antiques at the Indiana State Fair. At one point in his life, he earned two black belts in martial arts and became a semi-pro kickboxer for a while. His talents (and feet) were never ending. Janko always acted young, but later in life, after moving to Georgia, Janko loved to travel in his motor home with his wife and fur family. He would visit different parks and take his cats and dog for hikes, sometimes up to a waterfall or just along a boardwalk or beach. A couple of his more local favorite spots were Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee and Honeymoon Island in Florida. He also showed cats with his wife in 16 states. He started showing while living in Indiana and continued after moving. In 2019, he picked out and adopted a kitten from the LaPorte Small Animal Shelter, Wicket Wystri, who became the 5th Best Household Pet cat in the world. Wicket was his favorite cat to show and always showed him with great pride and much fun. Janko was very warm hearted and caring. He loved his grandchildren, animals, nature and he had a great sense of humor. Most people who knew him could attest that he was usually remembered for joking around, telling a funny story or playing a practical joke. He will be sadly missed by those who knew and loved him. Monetary donations collected will be given to Charity Ball global soccer charity, the LaPorte County Small Animal Shelter in LaPorte, Indiana and the Independent Cat Society in Westville, Indiana . Memorial services are pending at this time and will be held at a later date in Indiana.