Daniel "Dan" Hrvatin

"Dan" age 85, of Willoughby Hills, proud and loving father of David (fiancée Natalie Rosmarin), dear brother of Helen, former husband and close friend of the late Marilyn Praznik, son of Joseph and Daniela Hrvatin (both deceased). Dan passed away May 7. He graduated from Collinwood High in 1952 where he was president of his class, vice president of the student council and captain of the track team. Following graduation, he attended Ohio State University and Western Reserve University, majoring in radio and TV speech. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1957 and received a graduate assistantship that provided him an opportunity to direct live instructional telecasts at WEWS, channel 5. After a tour of duty as a volunteer with the U.S. Army, he was hired by KYW-TV (now WKYC), channel 3, and was later promoted to producer-director, news programs and documentaries. In 1961, he was called back into the U.S. Army due to the Berlin Wall crisis and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal. He returned to WKYC in 1962. In 1963, he directed the news bulletin that announced the death of Pres. John F. Kennedy. In 1970, he joined WJW-TV as executive news producer and assistant news director. In this position he produced news specials and programs featuring many distinguished figures. In 1974, he received an Emmy for his work as producer of Northeast Ohio's Best Newscast. He joined Eaton Corporation's world headquarters in 1977 as manager of video production and was responsible for a 140-location worldwide corporate video network. In this capacity, he received a number of awards and nominations from the International TV Association for writing and producing a corporate video news series. In 1983, he joined American Greetings Corporation as department manager of audio visual communications where he led a staff that won numerous awards. He subsequently was promoted to executive producer of multimedia productions. In this role he won a CINDY Award for writing an original song about greeting cards called "Just a Simple Piece of Paper" and turning it into a multi-image presentation for clients. Dan was certified an Accredited Media Manager by the Communications Media Managers Association, an international professional group. He retired in 1999, volunteered at University School and sang with the choir at St. Paschal Baylon Church in Highland Heights. In 2014, he was inducted into Collinwood's Hall of Fame. Dan will be missed by his many close friends and relatives, all of whom he loved and cherished. In lieu of flowers, his family would appreciate a gift "In Memory of Daniel J. Hrvatin" to Saint Paschal Baylon Catholic Church, 5384 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights, OH 44143. No services are planned at this time. This obituary was executive-produced by Dan with contributions by David.

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