Jirair Hovnanian
Jirair S. Hovnanian (June 9, 1927 – August 14, 2007) was an American home builder based in New Jersey. Hovnanian's business developed and built over 6,000 houses throughout South Jersey.[1]
Early life
Hovnanian was born in
Marriage
Jirair Hovnanian married Elizabeth Vosbikian,[when?] whose family founded the Quickie Manufacturing Corporation, which manufactured popular products such as the Quickie broom and mops.[1]
Career
Jirair and his three brothers founded a family construction company, Hovnanian Brothers Corp, in 1959.
Hovnanian and his firm, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, had participated in the
Jirair Hovnanian served as president of the New Jersey Builders Association and the lifelong director of the National Association of Home Builders.[1]
Interests
Jirair Hovnanian participated in a number of personal interest and philanthropic causes throughout his life. He was an avid sport fisherman. In August 1992 he and four others survived the sinking of his 127-foot-long (39 m) mega yacht, Lady Anna 90 miles (140 km) east-southeast off Cape May, New Jersey.[4] Hovnanian and two scientists teamed up to found Nature's Wonder, a Philadelphia metropolitan area company that extracts a product from peat that encourages plant growth.[1] Hovnanian was, himself, a champion grower of roses.
Hovnanian founded the Center for the Advancement of Natural Discoveries using Light Emission (CANDLE) in
Death
Hovnanian suffered heart failure at his home in
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Sims, Gayle Ronan. "An entrepreneur's final act of generosity", The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 16, 2007; accessed March 25, 2011. "A funeral service will be held Friday for Mr. Hovnanian, 80, who never stopped striving to make the world a better place for his family, the Armenian people and the underdog. The Iraqi-born Armenian American died after collapsing at his Mount Laurel residence that day."
- ^ "An entrepreneur's final act of generosity", Philly.com, 17 August 2007. Accessed 12 July 2016.
- ^ Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2007-09-16.[dead link]
- ^ http://www.yachtspotter.com/focard3.php?foo=FG010