JOHN P. JURENOVICH, 72 Active in Mercer Co. Housing Authority

SHARON, Pa. -- Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday in St. Anthony Church for John P. Jurenovich, 72, of 837 Spencer Ave., who died of cancer Monday evening in UPMC Horizon Hospital in Greenville.
Mr. Jurenovich, also known as "Chic," was born Jan. 6, 1929, in Farrell, a son of Peter and Catherine Gojecta Yurenovich.
He was a prominent local activist in labor, housing and economic development and graduated from Sharon High School.
He served in the Marine Corps and became a tool and die maker at Sharon Transformer Division of Westinghouse Electric before retiring in 1984.
While at Westinghouse, he was vice president and chief steward for hourly employees belonging to IUE Local 617. From 1986 to 1998, he was a weights and measures inspector for Mercer County.
Mr. Jurenovich was a member of the Mercer County Board of Assistance and the Mercer County Association for the Retarded and treasurer and vice president of the Mercer County Housing Authority.
He was active with the Pennsylvania Housing and Redevelopment Association and was an advocate for housing and redevelopment issues in Mercer County. He helped establish the nonprofit Community Homebuyers Inc. to help older neighborhoods and first-time home buyers.
During his tenure with the Mercer County Housing Authority, more than 200 family housing units were built in the county. Most recently, he was involved in planning for the HOPE VI revitalization of the Steel City Terrace Extension in Farrell.
He was appointed by Mayor Robert Price to the Sharon Redevelopment Authority in 1978, assuming the authority chairmanship later that year. During his tenure, he was instrumental in obtaining more than $12 million to revitalize Sharon and helped create more than 2,000 jobs.
As a member of the redevelopment authority, he contributed to the completion of Sharon City Center Plaza, Connelly Square Plaza, West State Street Development, the Baglier and Reinhardt's office complexes, the South and North Flats renewal projects, the Sharon Municipal Building and Bicentennial Park.
He was a member of the church and its parish council and Holy Name Society. He also was a member and president of the Slovenian Home Athletic Club and a member of the Croatian-American Civic Club. He was a gardener whose garden was cited many times in contests sponsored by the Sharon Herald.
Besides his wife, the former Ann Elizabeth Dudash, whom he married Jan. 27, 1951, he leaves three sons, J. Mark of Hamburg, N.Y., Dr. Michael J. of Warren, Ohio, and Gary S. of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; a brother, Jerome M. of Hermitage; a sister, Evelyn Popovich of North Tonawanda, N.Y.; and four grandchildren.
Friends may call from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Stevenson Funeral Home, where a prayer service will be at 9 p.m.
Arrangements are by Joseph P. Brashen Funeral Service.
4/18/01