Milica Pudney, mum from Perth, dies suddenly – leaving behind her husband to raise their children alone
A Perth mother has died suddenly, leaving behind a devastated husband to raise their two young children alone.
Milica Pudney, mother of two and owner of a photographic studio, died on August 25, sparking an outpouring of tributes. The cause of his death is currently unknown.
Her husband Tony is now preparing for his funeral and taking her body back to his hometown in Serbia while raising their children, aged five and two.
Ms Pudney’s sister-in-law, Molly, has set up an online fundraiser to help with funeral costs and living expenses.
Photography studio owner Milica Pudney died suddenly on August 25
Milica Pudney (pictured with her family) leaves behind two young children aged five and two
“As some of you may know, Tony unexpectedly lost Milica on Friday the 25th,” the page reads.
“Since then, he had to find the necessary funds to bring her back to her hometown in Serbia, as well as all the burial and subsistence costs.
“As it was unexpected, there was no life insurance in place, which means he has to come up with the money himself.”
“With her very young children facing a life without their mother, any donation to ease the financial burden will be greatly appreciated.”
The fundraiser raised nearly $30,000 in three days.
Mr Pudney was on vacation in Serbia when he met his future wife at the Exit music festival.
He was a forestry and logging contractor and she was a freshman law student and part-time model.
“We were totally different people who lived on opposite ends of the planet,” Ms Pudney captioned their 2015 wedding video.
“We thought it would just be a summer adventure, while on vacation in Serbia, but it wasn’t. Life had a different plan for us. We couldn’t let go and we promised ourselves that we would make it work.
Milica put her legal career on hold to raise a family and pursue her passion for photography.
Their summer romance blossomed into a long-distance relationship and spent the next two years traveling between Australia and Serbia to visit each other before Mr Putney proposed upon his arrival at Belgrade airport for a visit in July 2014.
The couple married the following year and moved to Australia.
After the birth of her son in 2018, she put her legal career on hold to pursue her passion for fine art portrait photography by founding Arabella Blue Portraits.
“All my life I thought I would become a lawyer and take up photography as a hobby. Now it seems to be the other way around,” Ms Pudney recalled in 2019.
“I wanted to do something that would give me enough freedom to be my own boss, create things on my own terms, and have enough free time to spend with my son. I let my creative side take over and I really found my place!’
His goal at the time was to become a “master photographer” and expand his business worldwide.
Ms Pudney’s work has been inundated with rave reviews online from clients.
His sudden death sparked an outpouring of tributes.
‘For what! I am so saddened by this news! I am so happy that she spent the last year in her beloved Serbia with her loved ones and explored a part of Europe! We were just talking about it when she was preparing it! I’m so sorry…my heart is broken for his little family,” a friend wrote.
A fundraiser to help support Milica Pudney’s family raised nearly $30,000 in just a few days.
