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Housing Visionary Kevork S. Hovnanian Dies at 86
 Kevork S. Hovnanian, founder and chairman of Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., died Sept. 24 of congestive heart failure at the New York Presbyterian Hospital. He was 86 years old.
After immigrating to America from Iraq, Hovnanian and his three brothers started the company in 1959 with $20,000. Last year, it was the sixth-largest builder of homes in the country based on revenue. A publicly-traded company, Hovnanian Enterprises today builds homes in 18 states.
From the inception of the company until 1987, Hovnanian served as its president, and then remained on as CEO of the company until 1997 before turning over the position to his son, Ara.
A member of both the New Jersey Builders Association (NJBA) and NAHB, Hovnanian was known for building quality, affordable homes for first-time home buyers. He also excelled in the active-adult market.
NJBA President Michael Karmatz called Kevork Hovnanian "an industry vanguard and true visionary who has left an indelible impression on our association, our industry, within New Jersey and far beyond."
Hovnanian received many honors and awards, including Harvard University's Dively Award for Leadership in Corporate Public Initiatives, being named one of Rutgers University’s "25 Top New Jersey Business Leaders of the Century," recognition on Forbes’ Platinum list and the Fortune 500 list, and the NAHB Research Center’s National Housing Quality Award, among others.
His philanthropic contributions and outreach were also numerous, including the establishment of the K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, the Alton A. Hovnanian Emergency Care Center at Riverview Medical Center and the cardiology floor at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Hovnanian is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Sirwart, five children and 13 grandchildren.
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