Gordana Erceg
1949
Gordana is a pensioner who spent her whole life in Osijek. Immediately after graduating from secondary school, she began working at the Saponia chemical plant, where she worked for a full 32 years until retirement. Her husband was an electrician. They were married for 44 years. She has been a widow since 2015.
At the beginning, loneliness is awful. The flat is empty… I think the main thing is to find interests and not to lock oneself in, since you have no one to talk to then, you only think about the past, that one is alone and things like that. So, I obtained a city library membership, I read crime novels, I joined the pensioners’ association and take excursions with them. My husband didn’t like travelling, and now I travel myself.
The clock from the private collection of Gordana’s late husband, who as a hobby collected analogue clocks with hands mechanical, automatic, and quartz – is one of the many which he treasured for years. His collection encompassed around 300 timepieces. Following his death, Gordana gave part of this valuable legacy to family and friends, and kept the rest. Most of the timepieces now rest on a freestanding shelf in the corner of her living room as a silent reminder of the 44 years spent in marriage and joint memories.