John N. Jurjevich, age 81 of Marengo, formerly of Victor, died Tuesday, December 20, 2005 at the Marengo Memorial Hospital following an extended illness. Mass of Christian Burial: 1:30 P.M. Friday, December 23, 2005 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Marengo with Fr. Joseph Roost officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Victor, Iowa. Friends may call Friday, December 23, 2005 from noon until service time at the church. Memorials may be contributed to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the Iowa County Hospice of Compassion, or the Iowa County Food Bank. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo is in charge of arrangements.

He is survived by a sister, Kay Chappuis (Steve) of Lakewood, WA; a nephew, Steve Chappuis (Jan) of Portland, OR; a niece Suzanne Winkles (Bill) of Seattle, WA and a brother-in-law, John Tibben and family of Victor. He was preceded in death by his parents, and his wife, Marna in 1989.

John Nicholas Jurjevich was born August 2, 1924 in Lincoln, Illinois, the son of John and Antonett Karlovich Jurjevich. He grew up in Galesburg. John served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1943-1945 during World War II. Following his military service, John graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe and then continued his education receiving a master’s degree in Geography/Cartography from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. During his college career, he worked at country clubs in Arizona, and caddied for several professional golfers. Following graduation, John was employed as a cartographer/editorial assistant by the Denoyer-Geppert Company in Chicago where he met his wife-to-be Marna Tibben. The couple married on November 9, 1963 in Chicago. They eventually moved to Elmhurst and John joined the staff at Elmhurst College as a professor of geography for 9 years. During that time, John spent a summer traveling around the world, gathering teaching and topic information for the classroom. While living and working in Chicago, John and Marna enjoyed traveling to Victor, to visit the Tibben family farm. In the early 1970’s the couple moved to Victor, where John worked in new building and real estate sales for several years.

John was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Marengo, the National Geographic Society, the Association of American Geographers and was a life-long member in the Croatian Fraternal Union. He was a hospice volunteer and enjoyed traveling, reading, fishing, cemeteries and the Iowa Hawkeyes.