Submitted by Julie Tromba, VP SCGA

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sunday, September 27, 2026 was a day filled with music, friendship, heritage, culture  and celebration at the Slovenian Cultural Garden during Slovenian Days in Cleveland 2026. 

With beautiful September weather and more than 70 people in attendance, the afternoon brought together members of the Slovenian community and friends of the Slovenian Cultural Garden for a special celebration of America’s 250th and Slovenia’s 35th independence. As part of the America 250 celebration, attendees were shown a special video produced by the Office for Slovenians Abroad and the Slovenian Embassy in Washington, D.C. The video added another meaningful connection to the celebration and highlighted the contributions of Slovenian Americans as part of the broader story of America.

Guests enjoyed food, button-box music, prayer, singing and fellowship. The highlight of the afternoon, however, was a special tribute honoring three extraordinary Slovenian immigrants whose lives, accomplishments and lasting legacies have enriched both the local community and the United States. 

For those gathered, it was an opportunity to see these three individuals not simply as accomplished members of the Slovenian-American community, but as parents, family members, friends and neighbors whose lives touched countless others. Their stories served as a reminder of the courage and determination of those who left Slovenia to build new lives in America, while continuing to maintain a strong connection to their Slovenian heritage.   

The Slovenian Cultural Association would like to thank everyone who shared this beautiful Sunday afternoon with us.  A special thank you to Fantje na vasi for being part of this day and filling the garden with your beautiful gift of song.  We appreciate the families of those honored for their presence and sharing the lives of mother, father and grandfather with us.  In addition, we appreciate the work of all of the SCGA members who contributed to making this day so special.

Tribute to Breda Lončar, shared by her son Matt Lončar:

In Loving Tribute to Breda Lončar Thank you to the Slovenian Community and the Slovenian Cultural Garden Association for honoring Breda at America’s 250th and Slovenia’s 35th anniversaries. Throughout her life, Breda was proud of both her Slovenian and her American heritage — and today, we celebrate the woman who spent a lifetime making sure that heritage was never just her own, but a gift she passed to all of us. Breda’s story begins with courage. As a young girl, she and her family fled Slovenia in the middle of the night, part of the Slovenian Exodus of 1945 — leaving behind everything familiar, carrying with them only what mattered most: their language, their faith, and their culture. That journey could have been the end of a story. Instead, it was the beginning of Breda’s life’s work. She didn’t wait long to begin that work. By around 1958, still a young woman, Breda was already active in the Cleveland Slovenian community — joining Slavček, a singing group where she recorded several Slovenian songs, and dancing with the Slovenian Folklore Dance Group KRES. It was through Slavček, fittingly, that she met her future husband, Matija. She would go on to lead KRES for twenty-five years, teaching generation after generation of young dancers the steps, the songs, and the spirit of a homeland many of them had never even seen. Picture that — twenty-five years of weekly rehearsals, of tying sashes and adjusting headpieces, of patiently repeating — some of us would call it drilling — the same steps, until a room full of Ohio-born kids moved like they’d grown up in the hills of Slovenia. And it didn’t stop with dance. In the early 1970s, Breda co-authored the first Slovenian-American Language Manual with her sister, Milena Gobec — a gift that gave families the tools to pass their mother tongue down to children who might otherwise have lost it. Breda taught English and French professionally, but it was teaching Slovenian — to adult education classes at Mayfield High School and at St. Vitus — that she loved most, and she kept doing it for as long as she was able. She also lent her voice to the written word, serving for years as an editor for the Slovenian American Times, helping tell the ongoing story of Slovenian life here in Northeast Ohio. In 2013, that lifetime of service was formally recognized when she was named the Federation of Slovenian Homes Woman of the Year — an honor that reflected her lifelong commitment to service, culture, and community. But heritage was only one half of Breda’s calling. Her true love was education. She built a distinguished career as a teacher, school principal, and curriculum director, and her faith led her to believe in every single person she taught — to inspire them, and to expect their very best. You did things for Breda not out of obligation, but because she believed you were capable of excellence, and you simply didn’t want to disappoint her. That belief helped lead Willoughby South High School to multiple state titles and 9th place at the 2009 United States Academic Decathlon national competition. That same belief in every student’s potential drove Breda to create the district’s innovative Bridge to Success program — an alternative learning environment offering encouragement and opportunity to students who needed extra support. It’s fitting, then, that her legacy is written not just in memory but in stone and mortar: in 2017, the district honored her by dedicating the Breda Lončar School for Success — ensuring that children who never met her will still grow up under her name, in the community she poured herself into. If you knew Breda, though, you know she never did any of this for recognition. She did it because she believed heritage needed to stay alive, and stay connected to the culture we live in today. Off the stage and outside the classroom, she was simply Breda — a devoted fan of the Cleveland Guardians and the Cavaliers, a fixture at many of her children’s and grandchildren’s sporting events. She showed up. For her culture, for her community, and for every single person she loved. Breda Lončar carried our homeland in her heart and turned it into a gift for all of us. Every dance step taught, every word of Slovenian passed down, every young mind she believed in — that was Breda saying: this culture, this community, this way of caring for one another, is worth keeping, and worth loving. Today, we honor her by doing exactly what she taught us to do — we remember, we celebrate, and we carry it forward. Hvala, Breda. Thank you.

Tribute to Edi Gobetz (Gobec), shared by his daughter Maria Prayner:

I am honored to speak on behalf of the Gobec family. My mom is with us in spirit, as she is currently in Slovenia.

What made our father, Edi Gobec, truly special was his deep humility. He never sought awards or accolades; instead, his most passionate wish was to see Slovenian culture thrive, ensuring that the contributions of our people were documented, celebrated, and passed down.

When classmates at St. Bonaventure University mocked him as “backwards” and claimed he couldn’t even type, they intended to diminish him. Instead, they sparked a fire. Driven to prove that the Slovenian people were vibrant, innovative, and deeply creative, he transformed those painful insults into a lasting legacy: the Slovenian Research Center of America. The organization’s initials spell SRCA—the Slovenian word for heart—capturing the exact spirit that defined his entire journey, and perfectly encapsulating the fact that he himself had a lot of heart. Towards the goal of highlighting Slovenian contributions to the world, he spent over 60 years promoting Slovenian heritage through research, publications, lectures, and exhibits throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.

A lesser known fact about him is that he was very active in community causes. He advocated for American youth, promoting scouting and prevention programming for at risk children. As Director of Research for the Cleveland Society for the Blind, his research, some of which was published in Braille, improved the lives of the visually impaired. In addition, he was a mentor to countless students during his long tenure as a professor at Kent State University.

Were he here with us today, he would undoubtedly use this moment to honor everyone who works—in ways both big and small—to safeguard our rich heritage. He would be immensely proud of organizations like the Slovenian Cultural Gardens for their dedication to preserving our roots. He would be deeply moved by everyone gathered here today, and heartened to know that Slovenian culture continues to blossom in Cleveland and far beyond.

Tribute to James Debevec, shared by his granddaughter Eileen Diamond:

Good afternoon and Thank you to the Slovenian Cultural Garden Committee for giving us an opportunity to share a little about our grandfather-James (Jacob) Debevec. It is a great honor for our family to have his story remembered here.

James was born on July 27, 1887 in Begunje pri Cerknici, which is a small settlement in the inner Carniola region of Slovenia. He grew up in a very simple farming family.

His brother, Josip Debevec, was a priest, writer, historian and translator who translated Dante’s Divine Comedy into Slovenian. Education and learning were clearly important in the Debevec family.

When James was a young man, Slovenia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Slovenian men were subject to military conscription, and James was going to have to fight fellow Slavic nations like Russia and Serbia. One account suggested they resented being used as cannon fodder.

At the age of 24 he left Europe by ship and gained asylum in Canada where he worked for about two years. Canada allowed him to avoid the stricter immigration quotas in the United States.

Then in 1914, James crossed the border and came to Cleveland, Ohio where his brother Anton lived. That decision changed the course of our family. James moved into a boarding house and met Jennie Kolar, who was the young daughter of the woman who ran it. They married in November 1914 and eventually raised six children in Euclid.

As soon as James arrived in Cleveland he went through the five-year rigorous process and became a citizen. James’s contributions to his new country went far beyond becoming a citizen.

In the early 1930’s, he became the editor of the Slovenian American newspaper Ameriška Domovina or the American Home. James used the newspaper to help newly arrived Slovenian immigrants understand their new country and prepare for American citizenship. The paper even taught practical things such as how to read an American street address.

Eventually, James became the owner, and the newspaper took a strong traditional Catholic stance. After WW2, James also helped Slovenian refugees who were trying to flee the communist regime in Yugoslavia.

Our cousin Donna was approached by researchers in Colorado whose families were helped by our grandfather. At our last reunion our Aunt Jeanie shared that she remembered people coming to their home seeking assistance at very odd hours, and mainly that our grandmother was very worried that our grandfather could be arrested.

That part of the story is very meaningful to me because it shows that he had a commitment to helping others and he remembered what it meant to be an immigrant seeking safety and a new beginning. His wife Jennie died at the young age of 47 in 1945 leaving their youngest child Jimmy, only six years old. James remarried Mary Andolsek in 1947. James Debevec died in 1952 but the mission he had begun continued through his family. His son Jimmy and wife Madeline continued the newspaper until they retired and published the last issue in 2008. Both of our grandparents are buried at Calvary Cemetery.

The most important part of my grandfather’s legacy is EDUCATION. James was able to attend a university because his brother was a professor. He understood the value of education and passed that belief to his six children. My mother then passed that belief to her children, and, as James’s grandchild, I have tried to pass that same belief on to my children and grandchildren.

My mother would always say that “they” (the elusive they) can take away many things from you but they cannot take away your education. I am very proud to be his granddaughter and thank you for helping us remember him today.