Ivan Jelenovic was born in the town of Hlapa on the island of Krk in Croatia, at home, on September 5, 1937. He was the middle child of his parents, Vinko and Jelena- his older sister is Maria and younger brother is Mirko. Vinko worked on boats. He died at the age of 67. Jelena nee Crncic, lived to the age of 98 years. When Vinko went off to war, Jelena earned a living by selling sea salt in the city, which she produced herself from the Adriatic Sea. Ivan was trained as a machinist in trade school in the city of Rijeka. He traveled throughout Croatia for work, eventually settling in Rijeka. His parents and brother immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1950s, and his sister and her family, in 1962.
Ivan married Slavka on February 4, 1961. On February 19, 1961, he immigrated to the U.S.
Slavka followed in November 1961. The couple’s first daughter, Nella, was born in 1963 and their second, Sonja, was born in 1965.
John Yelenovic became a U.S. Citizen on May 12, 1970. His strong work ethic was appreciated by the commercial factories where he was employed, in Manhattan for eight years, and thereafter, in Brooklyn, continuing into his early seventies.
John loved the sea and beach, and the family has spent summers at their beach home for almost 50 years. John was avidly interested in people, their ethnicity and culture. He was skilled at fixing and building machines. He is survived by his wife, Slavka; daughter, Nella, son-in-law, Jeff, and grandchildren, Dimitry and Marina; daughter, Sonja; sister Maria and her husband, Stipe, and their family; brother Mirko and his wife, Ursula, niece and nephew, Lori and Glen, and their families.
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