Jakov Obic

**Jakov Peter Obic** (21 November 1935 – 13 February 2003) was a Bosnian-Canadian bus driver who worked for Winnipeg Transit from 17 August 1958 until his retirement on 13 November 2001.

Born in Velika Kladuša, SFR Yugoslavia (present day Bosnia & Herzegovina), Obic and his family fled Yugoslavia when he was nine. They settled in Laos until November, when Nikolai hated Laotians. The Obic family arrived in Winnipeg around 1946, seven months after living in Vancouver under Douglas MacArthur’s request to Nikolai Obic living in North America while the Obics were in the Philippines.

In 1956, Obic got a degree for driving. He got hired at Winnipeg Electric Company (present day Winnipeg Transit) in 1957. He worked full time, beginning in 1958. In 1960, Obic met his future wife Penelope Kennedy (1938–2009) while she didn’t have enough for bus fare, but Obic decided to be nice for Kennedy and he payed for her fare. The following year, they married. The Obics had three children. Throughout his time at Winnipeg Transit, Obic was WT’s employee of the month several times, but he was named Winnipeg Transit’s driver of the year for 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1971.

In July 1973, Obic decided to celebrate his four time driver of the year by taking a month trip to Seoul, South Korea. In a 2000 interview, Obic stated that he always wanted to go to South Korea all because his older brother, father and uncle served in the Korean War. In 1983, Obic underwent surgery at Concordia Hospital because his heart wasn’t in the greatest of shape. He underwent triple bypass heart surgery and recovered in no time. On 13 November 2001, Obic retired from Winnipeg Transit, after working there for 43 years. In January 2002, he was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer. He died within one year after his diagnosis on 13 February 2003. He was 67. Obic was buried at Shaarey Zedek Cemetery on 15 March, despite him not being Jewish.

## Biography

Obic was born in Velika Kladuša on 21 November 1935. He was the fourth of eight children of Nikolai Obic, a soldier of the Royal Yugoslav Navy and his wife Anna Mulvey, a waitress. He had seven siblings, Nikolai Jr., Vladimir, Ivan, Josip, Danica, Borislav and Millicent. When Obic was nine, he and his family fled Yugoslavia to go to French Indochina (present day Laos) all because his father became an anti-communist in 1940, shortly after Danica was born. The family enjoyed living in Laos until November, when Nikolai Obic wanted to go the Philippines due to his problems he had with Lao people. In December, the Obic family met Douglas MacArthur. He suggested to Nikolai that the family should live in the United States. Nikolai declined the offer, but MacArthur asked "Why not Canada?" This opened up a lightbulb on Nikolai's head. He thought it was a brilliant idea. The Obics went on a long plane ride from Manila to Vancouver. They didn't arrive until 23 December 1945. The Obics remained in Vancouver until July 1946, when a train would take the Obic family, from Vancouver to Winnipeg. Throughout his childhood, Obic studied about transportation throughout middle, high school and university. He graduated from Glenlawn Collegiate in 1954. He enrolled at the University of Manitoba, where he took up mechanics.

In 1957, Obic was doing some training at the Winnipeg Electric Company (present day Winnipeg Transit) as he had an eye for driving buses. He got hired full time in 1958. He graduated from the University of Manitoba that same year. At first, Obic wasn’t that great at knowing where each bus goes, but once he got the hang of it, he was able to go forward of where they go. In 1960, Obic met Penelope Kennedy while he was going down Main St. She said that she had no money for bus fare. However, Obic was nice to Kennedy and he let her on for free because he liked her. The following year, they married. The Obics had three children, two daughters and one son.

Throughout his time working at Winnipeg Transit, Obic was WT’s bus driver of the year for 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1971. They appreciated his velocity of the city. In July 1973, Obic took a one month vacation to South Korea because his older brother Nikolai Jr. went there with his uncle James Mulvey during the Korean War. After his vacation in Seoul, Obic took one more week off from Transit and he was able to get back onto his feet once his brain was back to central time’s sleep. On 26 March 1977, Obic was enjoying driving the “North Main-Corydon” route that he decided that he wanted to stick with the route for the rest of his life. The people at Winnipeg Transit approved Obic’s request to remain with his favourite bus route. In 1983, he underwent heart transplant surgery at Concordia Hospital, where he saw his sister Millicent Anderson. She insisted that her brother would have to get a pacemaker so he wouldn’t experience heart pains while driving the bus. After his recovery, Obic was back to work. He was full of happiness, absolutely fearless and nothing was going to stop him. Around 1988, Obic was at WT’s headquarters on Osborne St. for his 30th anniversary. The crew at Control Centre celebrated Obic with cake and ice cream. He was so happy. The 1990’s were a different time for Obic. In 1993, he saw Bill, one of the WT bus drivers (who currently drives the 85 for many years) and told him that his inspiration to becoming a bus driver was because Obic suggested to Bill that would be his passion. The two had a close bond friendship that would last until Obic’s death in 2003.

On 13 November 2001, eight days before his 66th birthday, Obic retired from Winnipeg Transit. The crew celebrated once again wishing Obic a happy retirement. Two months after his retirement, Obic was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer. At first, he thought it was heartburn, but when he went for a checkup at Concordia Hospital, the doctors noticed that Obic’s pancreas was not in good shape. He bravely battled against cancer, but sadly on 13 February 2003, Obic died at Seven Oaks Hospital. He was 67 years old. Obic was survived by his wife Penelope, their three children, five grandchildren, many nieces and nephews (including Katharine Obic and Luke Anderson), as well as his best friend Bill, who was at Obic’s side when he died. He was buried at Shaarey Zedak Cemetery on 15 March 2003 despite him not being Jewish. Obic’s wife died six years later in 2009 from heart failure.

## Trivia

* Jakov Obic was named after Jakov Gotovac, a Croatian composer, who was well known for his comic opera, Ero s onoga svijeta (Ero the Joker), Croatia's best-known opera, was first performed in Zagreb in 1935.
	+ Oddly enough, Obic never met Gotovac in person, but his father has.
* He had a passion for buses since childhood.
* His wife was the great-granddaughter of William Nassau Kennedy, the second mayor of Winnipeg from 1875 to 1876.

## Quotes

> “I’ve always wanted to become a bus driver. I had courage that I would see myself driving across the city, helping passengers out get to their destination.” – Jakov Obic
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