Alex Henry “Sunny” Yovanovich of Brownsburg, Indiana passed away peacefully on the morning of April 21, 2026. A loving husband, father, grandfather and sibling, Alex was nicknamed Sunny as a child and is survived by his wife Nancy (Cerne) Yovanovich, children Alex Yovanovich (Andrea), Annette Yovanovich (Steve Mayberry) and Timmy Yovanovich (Christine), grandchildren Alexander Yovanovich and Sophie Yovanovich, and siblings Sue Ann Yovanovich, Debby Williams and Denny Yovanovich. His passing was preceded by his father Alex Yovanovich and mother Frances (Milharcic) Yovanovich.

The love of Alex’s life was Nancy, who he met at a KSKJ picnic outside of Brownsburg. The picnic was a highlight of the yearly calendar for Slovenian descendants of all ages. Alex and Nancy spent many evenings dancing at the Slovenian National Home, which was close to Holy Trinity Slovenian Roman Catholic Church and school in Haughville, where both attended church and grade school. Alex and Nancy originally lived across the street from each other in Haughville, but Alex was only 4-years-old and Nancy just 2 when he moved away. However, it seems like fate that they met again.

Alex and Nancy were married in 1965 and soon moved into a small home not too far from Alex’s parents. After a handful of years, with three young kids and only two bedrooms, it was more than a little crowded and definitely time to move. Alex worked tirelessly with his cousin Frankie Joe Konovsek, Carl Marolt and Augie Marolt to build a new home in Brownsburg, not far from where the KSKJ picnic took place. The family moved here in 1972 and this home became the centerpiece of family life, while Alex and Nancy were active parishioners of St. Malachy Catholic Church and their kids attended St. Malachy School.

Alex could often be seen working in the meticulously manicured yard of the Brownsburg home or tinkering in the garage on one of a handful of his British-built MG Roadsters that required daily service to keep in order, with his sons often helping the cause. Alex loved hunting and could usually be seen with one of his German short-haired pointer dogs in the field next door to the house. After a visit to the field, it was a common occurrence to walk in the back door with a couple of rabbits, but he likely had to step over some furry creatures on the way there, because the family once had 16 outdoor cats at the same time.

In 1981, Alex decided it was time to expand the house and add a new living room with a loft that would be utilized as a game room. He had help, as his dad Alex helped lay the two-story stone fireplace and finish the woodworking, while his sons young Alex and Timmy spent a summer deconstructing the garage brick wall next to the paved patio. The sons jokingly referred to this job as working in “The Gulag.” The addition was finished in January 1982, but in the meantime Alex made sure that he got cable TV the first day it was offered.

Alex loved spending the holidays with his family. Alex and Nancy always hosted both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at their house. One big tradition passed on from his father from his youthful days in Haughville and at two childhood homes just east of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was making homemade sausage, a recipe that is nearly a century old. Every Easter Alex would lead the family in making homemade fresh sausage, while the big event for Christmas was smoking the homemade sausage, normally with other family members, in his own handbuilt smokehouse. In addition to his Slovenian heritage, the Yovanovich surname is Serbian and Alex made sure his family was involved in those traditions such as attending holidays, weddings and funerals at the Serbian Orthodox Church and attending Slava, an event which celebrated the patron saint of the family, which for the Yovanovich family was Saint Nicholas.

Alex took great pride in the precision of his work as a tool and die maker at Allison Transmission, a division of General Motors. He worked on many experimental engineering projects for semi-trailer trucks, buses, tanks and even NASA. He particularly enjoyed talking about the experimental engineering contract for the M1 Abrams tank, which required the team to run the transmission until it blew up, deconstruct it, find an issue and then do it all over again. A couple of times he and his buddies from the tool room spent lunch time playing golf on the roof of the Allison Transmission plant. Alex also moonlighted as a toolmaker at a small machine shop next to Allison Transmission, where he worked on several precision jobs, including one for A.J. Foyt’s Coyote IndyCar. He worked at Allison Transmission until the age of 49, when he took up the offer of an early retirement.

Alex was a veteran of the U.S Army and Indiana National Guard, fondly recalling those days and proud of his service. Every year Alex and his wife Nancy would attend the Indianapolis 500 with their family, and as a military jump team would fall from the sky, he would tell captivating stories of his many jumps as a paratrooper. Alex would often reminisce how the modern parachutes were so much better than what he had in his Army days. There were even a few times when Alex or his fellow paratroopers would land in a tree and have to cut themselves loose of their parachutes. He loved telling those stories.

Alex had a true passion for football. He was a star football player, garnering All-State and AllCity awards for the undefeated 10-0 Cathedral High School City Championship-winning team of 1959 under coach Joe Dezelan. Alex’s playing days continued as a starting “rover back” on defense for the Indiana University football team in the early-1960s under coach Phil Dickens. His passion for football never waned, and it wasn’t a surprise that Alex proved to be an outstanding coach, leading St. Malachy to a rare CYO Cadet Football City Championship in 1984.

Alex, Nancy and their immediate family attended IU football games on a regular basis. After several years of purchasing individual game tickets, Alex and Nancy became IU football season ticket holders in 1982. After some years of being unable to attend the games with their family, Alex and Nancy triumphantly returned to four IU home games during the undefeated 16-0 National Championship season for their beloved Hoosiers. That return to Memorial Stadium in Bloomington made both of them smile.

Spring time always brought a sort of family reunion with an annual trek to the Indianapolis 500. When Alex was a youngster he lived just east of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and he would walk from his back yard just east of the track over to the backstretch. He always imagined he was his favorite driver, Duke Nalon, piloting the screaming supercharged Novi. Alex and Nancy also made many trips to the IndyCar races at the Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin, where as many as 35 family and friends were there to join in the fun and frivolity.

When Alex was working, the family took vacations to Little Spider Lake in Northern Wisconsin, Mackinac Island in Michigan and Daytona Beach in Florida. In 1980, the family took a trip that could have literally inspired the movie “Vacation.” This involved a trek out West in their family truckster, also known as an Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon. Sights seen on this odyssey included Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug, Yellowstone National Park, The Great Salt Lake, San Francisco, Fresno, Yosemite National Park, Los Angeles, Disneyland, Escondido, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and even Tijuana, Mexico. After his retirement, Alex and Nancy were able to travel to far-flung locales such as Slovenia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Costa Rica, Australia, Alaska and Hawaii.

Alex and Nancy embraced being grandparents and thought the world of their grandchildren Alexander and Sophie. Traditions such as the making and smoking of homemade sausage and the making of the Slovenian dessert potica were passed down with much love. Alex always said he was lucky to have such wonderful grandchildren.

Alex always stayed true to his Catholic faith. Alex and Nancy always attended Mass and generously gave to Catholic charities. He was stickler for not eating meat on Fridays during Lent, but as his kids grew a little older, he loved to ask them if they wanted to order a pizza at midnight from Brownsburg Pizza to mark the transition to Saturday. In recent years, Alex and Nancy prayed The Rosary together daily and the strength of their faith got them through some significant health challenges. Alex departs us loved by both family and friends.

Visitation is scheduled for Monday, April 27 from 4-7 p.m. at Matthews Mortuary at 690 East 56th Street in Brownsburg, Indiana. Alex’s funeral will take place on Tuesday, April 28 at 11 a.m. at St. Malachy Catholic Church at 9833 East County Road 750 North in Brownsburg, Indiana. The graveside service will follow the funeral at Calvary Cemetery at 435 West Troy Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana.