Jack Richard Jankovich, 91, of Manhattan, Kansas, passed away at Good Shepherd Hospice on April 4, 2023, after a long bout with Dementia. He was born on July 30, 1931, in Gary, Indiana, the middle of three sons born to Nick and Winifred (Morris) Jankovich.
Jack was raised in Gary, Indiana working at his father’s airport, the Gary Municipal Airport, from the time he was in grade school until graduation from Lew Wallace High School in Gary, Indiana. This is where he and his brothers found their love of flying, which he maintained throughout his life.
In high school, he participated in basketball and track, lettering three times in both sports and was a member of the Indiana State Championship mile relay team. In high school he met his one and only love, our mom, Ann Geoghegan. After high school he was recruited to run track at LSU, Michigan State, and Indiana University where he was a multi-year letterman. He graduated with a degree in Geology from Indiana University in 1953. After graduation he was drafted into the U.S. Army, in processing at Fort Riley, Kansas, then completed basic training at Ft. Bliss, Texas, being promoted to corporal and assigned to an anti-aircraft battery at Fort Hamilton, as a radar operator, protecting New York Harbor.
On January 22, 1954, he married Ann Geoghegan, in her parent’s home and then moved to his duty station in New York. Upon his honorable discharge, Jack went to work for Pontiac Motor Division in Los Angeles, CA, where they had their first son, Richard. In 1956, the family moved back to Gary, IN to begin working at the family airport. The family stayed in the region with homes in Gary and Hammond, where they had their second son Timothy. The family moved to Overland Park, Kansas in 1964 when Jack returned to Pontiac as a corporate Service Representative. While in Overland Park, Jack also served on the Lenexa Public School Board for two years.
In 1967, Jack purchased the former Curry Pontiac and the family moved to Manhattan, Kansas, and Key Pontiac Inc. was formed, located in downtown Manhattan. In 1970, a new dealership was built and moved to the current location on Stagg Hill Road, now known as Briggs Automotive Inc. In 1984 Key Inc. (Pontiac, Buick, GMC Truck and Nissan) was sold and Jack began teaching as an adjunct at KSU teaching Small Business Operations in the College of Business and later in the College of Agriculture. He also went to work for the local SBDC for many years. In 1986, he founded JART, Inc. selling aviation promotional items and products nationally. He retired and sold JART in 2019.
Jack is survived by his sons Rich and his wife Caroline of Manhattan, Tim and his wife Cindy of Dallas, Texas, his brother Bill and his wife Nancy of Racine, Wisconsin, grandchildren, Jillian (husband Will) Moore of McPherson, Kansas, Nick (wife Rachael) Jankovich of Manhattan, Katelin Reeves (husband James Richardson) of Carmel, Indiana, Michael Jankovich of Lawrence, Kansas, great grandchildren Elizabeth and Abigail Moore (Jill and Will), Daniel and Simon Jankovich (Nick and Rachael), his nephews Jim Daubenheyer of Valparaiso, Indiana and Dave Daubenheyer of Las Vegas, Nevada. Jack was preceded in death by his wife of 59+ years, Ann Jankovich, his parents, in-laws, brother Bob and sister-in-law Ilene Jankovich.
Until recent years Jack was an avid cyclist who could be seen peddling down Kimball Avenue at dawn or in the hottest part of the day with his yellow caution vest and flag flying high! We will miss Papa’s famous waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, his beautiful birthday/wedding cakes, his rendition of Happy Birthday on each of our birthdays and how he would greet us with his mischievous grin whenever we came to “The House That Jack Built” to celebrate together!
The family is holding a private graveside service/interment on Monday, May 15, 2023.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Good Shepherd Homecare and Hospice, Inc. or Homestead Assisted Living of Manhattan. Contributions may be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502.