Obituary: Jean Sparozic Of Huntington, Port Washington

HUNTINGTON, NY — Jean Sparozic, the longtime owner of a formal gown-making business and who had homes in Huntington, Port Washington and Florida, has died. He was 93.

Sparozic died Jan. 12, 2020, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, his daughter confirmed. He was the beloved husband of the late Joyce Dendievel Sparozic, a loving father to Jill Morrison, Suzy Sparozic and Wendy Dirkes, and an adored grandfather of Jonathan and Ryan. Sparozic was also the dear brother of Marie Gunderson.

He will be reposed from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Austin F. Knowles Funeral Home on Main Street in Port Washington. A graveside service is planned at 11 a.m. Saturday at Nassau Knolls Cemetery.

A French native, Sparozic was born Sept. 3, 1926, in Masny, France. He attended a convent as a child with his sister. Their mother, a devout Catholic, had high hopes he would enter the seminary.

But Sparozic had other ideas.

He wanted to become a merchant sea captain and see the world. And at 16, that dream became a reality. Sparozic joined the French Merchant Marines during World War II, making nearly 40 trips to the United States and other ports of call. The ships often carried American soldiers and supplies back to war-torn France and other sea ports. The first time — and each time after returning to New York Harbor — he would never forget seeing the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of freedom.

For over 40 years, Sparozic owned Amoureuse Couture, a 7th Avenue evening gown manufacturer in New York City, making glamorous custom formal gowns for such notables as Mamie Eisenhower, wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, opera singer Beverly Sills, Kathryn Harken (wife of Zero Mostel), Rudy Giuliani's second wife, Donna Hanover for President George H.W. Bush's inauguration, a Saudi prince's daughter and Rosemary Clooney. He also sold to such stores as Saks, Hirshleifers, and many more around the country. Before opening his own company, Sparozic worked with Bill Blass and Oleg Cassini, among others.

As a French Merchant Marine, he made 32 trips across the Atlantic to the United States during World War II. During free time in New York City, he visited the USO French Canteen, where he met his future bride, Joyce Dendievel, a beautiful, young British and French fashion designer who was fluent in French and volunteered at the canteen for the war effort.

After several trips back and forth to France, a 19-year-old Sparozic decided he wanted to make a life with Dendievel in the United States, and they married.

Not knowing English, it was rough finding work at first. After moving to Port Washington to live with his wife and her family, Jean Sparozic worked for a time at Shield’s Plumbing. The couple moved to New York City and he wound up working in the kitchen at the Waldorf Astoria. He later visited his wife's company, and she helped him find work in the garment district.

He became fascinated with the pattern makers and took night courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology, eventually becoming proficient in pattern-making and becoming tops in his field. In 1958, Joyce became a mother to their three girls, and she saved enough to buy a home. In 1966, he started Amoureuse Couture, and the rest is history. He continued taking courses of all sorts into his 50s.

Around this time, Jean Sparozic also was able to help bring his mother, step-father, sister and her children from Algiers, which was war-torn at the time, to live in Port Washington, too.

He loved sailing and kept his boat at the Town Dock, taking the family out sailing and fishing. The couple spent many summers in Montauk camping and fishing, as well. Jean’s other love was restoring old Mercedes-Benz in his spare time, well into his eighties.