Jirair Hovnanian

Jirair S. Hovnanian (June 9, 1927 – August 14, 2007) was an Armenian Iraqi-American home builder based in New Jersey. Hovnanian's business developed and built over 6,000 houses throughout South Jersey.

Jirair S. Hovnanian was born in Kirkuk, Iraq. His parents, who were ethnic Armenians had fled to Iraq in 1915 to escape the Armenian Genocide. Jirair's father was from Sebastia and his mother was from Malatia. Hovnanian's father, Stepan K. Hovnanian, owned and operated a construction company based in Baghdad. Hovnanian was one of six children in his family. He attended a Jesuit high school in Kirkuk. The Hovnanian family, including Jirair, emigrated to the United States in 1948. The Hovnanians spoke very little English when they arrived in the US. The family settled in North Philadelphia. Jirair graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in business. He also holds an MBA from Stanford Business School.

Jirair Hovnanian married Elizabeth Vosbikian, whose family founded the Quickie Manufacturing Corporation, which manufactured popular products such as the Quickie broom and mops.

Jirair and his three brothers founded a family construction company, Hovnanian Brothers Corp, in 1959. In 1964, Jirair split off from his brothers' company and founded his own construction business, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons, in Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey. Over the next 40 years, the company would operate throughout South Jersey, mainly in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. One of Jirair's brothers, Kevork, later founded Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc, a publicly traded firm based in Red Bank, New Jersey. The brothers' companies are not related professionally. Jirair championed New Jersey state laws in the 1970s to protect home buyers from unscrupulous builders and realtors. The laws later enacted included the Municipal Land Use Law, the 10 year Home Owner's Warranty Program, and the Uniform Construction Code.

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