John Dapcevich

John Evan Dapcevich (September 26, 1926 – September 1, 2022) was an American politician in the state of Alaska.^[1]

John E. Dapcevich
Mayor of Sitka, Alaska
In office 1971–1975
Preceded by	Office established[note 1]
Succeeded by	Ben Grussendorf
In office 1979–1985
Preceded by	Ben Grussendorf
Succeeded by	Rocky Gutierrez
In office 1987–1989
Preceded by	Dan Keck
Succeeded by	Dan Keck
Personal details
Born	(1926-09-26)September 26, 1926 Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	September 1, 2022(2022-09-01) (aged 95) Juneau, Alaska, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Janice Dapcevich
Children	6 including Marko Dapcevich
Occupation	Accountant

Biography

Dapcevich was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, in 1926 to Savo (Sam) and Stana Dapcevich, immigrants from Montenegro,^[2] where his father worked in coal mines.^[3] The family moved to Juneau, Alaska, in 1928 living with a Serbian community, with John entering school years later. He was married to Janice and resided in Juneau until his death in September 2022.

Political career

He moved to Sitka, Alaska, in 1960 where he served six terms as Mayor during a span of 20 years.^[4] During his time in office, Dapcevich worked to successfully unify the City of Sitka with various borough governments.^[5] Upon his retirement in 1995, he moved back to Juneau.^[3]

He also served in the Alaska Public Offices Commission and Alaska Pioneers' Homes Advisory Board, serving under Governor Steve Cowper. In addition, he previously served in the Territorial Teachers' Retirement System and as a budget analyst in the territory's fiscal and budget management office. Dapcevich also chaired the Southeast Alaska Democratic Party and the State Central Council of the Alaska Democratic Party.^[6] He was awarded a lifetime achievement award by Governor Tony Knowles in 2003.

Notes

1. In 1971, Dapcevich became mayor of the newly-incorporated City and Borough of Sitka, which unified the former Greater Sitka Borough with the former City of Sitka. The final borough mayor was Howard Bradshaw and the final city mayor was Les Shepard.

References

1. "Six-Term Sitka Mayor and Lifetime Alaskan dies". Juneau Empire. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
2. Courtesy of John Dapcevich (September 29, 2006). "Photo: 80th birthday | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper". Juneau Empire. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
3. "Parks and Recreation - Juneau, Alaska". Juneau.org. October 23, 1928. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
4. "Serbian History 101 - Famous American Serbs Please understand I use American Serb and Serbian American interchangeably. We were always taught to think of ourselves as Americans first, last and always, but to always be proud of, and never forget our Serbian heritage. Hence in the Pittsburgh area, "American Serb" is the most frequent term used, putting the emphasis on America first". Babamim.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
5. "Setting the record straight | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper". Juneau Empire. December 17, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
6. "Juneau man wins achievement award | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper". Juneau Empire. January 3, 2003. Retrieved January 7, 2012.