Falling banana kills woman
Slovenian migrant Ivanka Perko died in hospital last week in bizarre circumstances - she suffered complications after she dropped a banana on her leg.
Comical to the end, the 73-year-old old quipped to friends and family while on her deathbed: "I can't believe after all this time it was a bloody banana that killed me."
A family friend told The Saturday Daily Telegraph yesterday that Ms Perko - who was treasured by her Blue Mountains community - had been ill for several months with a condition that made her skin delicate and fine.
"She had tried to open a banana and dropped it," the friend said. "The pointy end scraped down her leg and she died from complications."
Even her death notice revealed her strange demise, killed by a falling banana.
Friends said it was seen as an appropriate end to a unique and fruitful life.
As she was farewelled at St Raphael's Slovenian Catholic Church in Merrylands yesterday, Mrs Perko's only son Izzy Perko told of his mother's colourful migration to Australia, her love of all things Slovenian and her daredevil ways which had never waned.
"She escaped Slovenia with nothing but the clothes on her back and a pocket full of black pepper to ward off the guard dogs, and for that
I am most grateful," Mr Perko said.
Within the Slovenian community, Ms Perko was known for her vocal protests about the famous Kransky being labelled as a Polish or German sausage.
Her love of Slovenia, the official home of the gourmet sausage, was only subdued by her memories of Nazi occupation and the brutal regime of Yugoslavian dictator Marshal Josip Tito.
In her final years, Ms Perko remained a valiant volunteer for Meals on Wheels and the St Vincent de Paul charity.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17882109-421,00.html
