Draga Dinevska (nee Ivanovska), whose compassionate soul could rival the sun in its brilliance, passed away on January 14, 2023. During the nearly 81 years she spent on this Earth, Draga touched the lives of countless family members, friends, and even strangers. Few people in the world crossed paths with her and left without a story to tell or a memory to cherish.

Draga was defined by her love, resolve, and taste for adventure. From childhood, she had a strong sense of who she was and what she wanted. One could not call her meek. In the small village of Stenje, Macedonia, where she spent her childhood, she would spend hours swimming in the lake or venturing up the nearby mountains at only five years old. The daughter of Milan Ivanovski and Milica Ivanovska, and later the stepdaughter of Fana Ivanovska, Draga was the eldest of four siblings; sister Desanka Dzurovska (nee Ivanovska), brother Janko Ivanovski, and stepsister Ljiljana Radun (nee ), the first two of which still live in Macedonia, with the latter now residing in Serbia.

At only fourteen years old, she set off by herself to go live with her grandfather in America. Her voyage included a pit stop in Paris, simply because she always wanted to see the city of lights. She attended Springfield South High School in Springfield, Ohio, where she graduated in 1962 before returning to Macedonia. She relocated from Stenje to Skopje and attended college for English Literature. Draga's bookshelves were lined with novels by her favorite authors, including Pearl Buck, Ernest Hemingway, and Fyodor Dostoevsky, and poems by the likes of Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Alexander Pushkin. In addition to Macedonian and English, Draga also spoke Serbo-Croatian and French.

She met her husband, the late Stefan Dinevski, in the town of Resen. The two raised their children, Tatjana McGuire (nee Dinevska) and Aleksandar Dinevski in Skopje. Following her love for literature, Draga worked at the publishing house ZID . She then worked at the newspaper and publishing house Nova Makedonija . Additionally, she taught English to college students and government personnel and translated between English and Macedonian.

She would return to Ohio in 1992 with her children and went on to settle down in Cincinnati. There she eagerly saw her family expand with the additions of her daughter-in-law, Sonja Dinevski (nee Todorovska), and Tim McGuire. Her home was always filled with commotion thanks to her three grandchildren, Elizabeth Dinevski, Tiara McGuire, and Christian Dinevski, all of whom she incessantly tried to cook for 24/7.

Draga loved everything sweet. She kept a bag of Jolly Ranchers within reach at all times and always had a chocolate bar or two in hiding. She would cook and bake without any measurements, making it almost impossible to replicate her mouthwatering recipes. She was selfless with her time and belongings, offering to give away anything someone commented on liking, be it a hairclip or dishware. The only material thing she ever asked for was magnets from her grandchildren's travels – her refrigerator boasted an impressive collection, ranging from Monaco to Turkey to Iowa.

Visitation will be at St. Ilija Macedonian Orthodox Church, 8465 Wuest Rd. on Saturday (January 21) from 9:00 a.m. until the time of the funeral service at 10:45 a.m.