BUILDER J.S. HOVNANIAN DIES AT 80

AP
August 15, 11:16 PM ET
Newark, N.J.

Jirair S. Hovnanian, an immigrant who founded two building companies,
has died.

Hovnanian was 80 and died Tuesday at his home in Mount Laurel,
said his grandson, Garo Hovnanian, a member of the third generation
involved with J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, of Mount Laurel.

Jirair Hovnanian started the company in 1964 after splitting from a
company he started with his three brothers. One of those brothers,
Kevork Hovnanian, started a company that eventually became Hovnanian
Enterprises Inc., a publicly traded company based in Red Bank.

The two companies have no business relationship.

Hovnanian had been in and out of the hospital recently for small
ailments and because he had been outside in last week’s heat watching
his company build a house for ABC’s television show, "Extreme Makeover:
Home Edition," his grandson said Wednesday.

In a statement, the family said Jirair Hovnanian "gave his life
to nurturing his loved ones, expanding opportunities for future
generations, and pursuing the American Dream. We take comfort in
knowing that his legacy lives on in the people he touched so deeply
with his generosity, his love, and his passion for life."

Over the past four decades, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons built more than
6,000 homes, mainly in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties,
the company said.

Jirair Hovnanian was born in Kirkuk, Iraq, where his father, Stepan
K. Hovnanian, an Armenian refugee, was a builder.

Jirair Hovnanian came to the United States in 1948 and graduated from
the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in 1952.

He and his brothers formed Hovnanian Brothers Corp. in 1959 and built
homes in New Jersey before starting separate companies about five
years later.

In 2006, Hovnanian received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for
contributions to America by the National Ethnic Coalition of
Organizations Inc.

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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress