A. Jake "Jake" Mladinich, II

A. Jake “Jake” Mladinich, II, 88, of Biloxi, MS passed away on Thursday, December 18, 2014 in Biloxi. A. Jake “Jake” Mladinich, II, was born on May 28, 1926 in Biloxi, MS. His parents, A. Jake Mladinich, Sr. and Mary Mladinich, provide a classic example of immigrants who lived out the American Dream. They were Slavic immigrants who came to Biloxi in the late 19th century to work in the seafood industry. With hard work and the help of relatives they eventually acquired waterfront property and built a successful and well-known complex of tourist-related family businesses on the beach in an area that is now in west Biloxi. Jake worked in the family businesses and eventually inherited in 1987, a segment of his parents properties, including the Fiesta entertainment complex, the Cabana Beach apartments and the Sea-n-Sirloin Restaurant. Jake’s many civic memberships and titles included Past President and current member of the Slavic Benevolent Association, Past President of the MS Gulf Coast Hotel Association, MS Gulf Coast Restaurant Association and MS Gulf Coast Motel Association; Past Commissioner of the Biloxi Port Commission and the Point Cadet Development Commission (PCDC-Waterfront Master Plan); Past Board of Directors of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce; Past Vice-President and current member of the Biloxi Businessmen’s Club; current member of Main Street Biloxi, Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce, B.P.O. Elks, Chapter #606 and Biloxi Yacht Club. Jake owned many businesses which included The Flame Restaurant in Gulfport, The Party Store, the Hot-Stop Restaurant, Peppermint Lounge, The Nineteenth Hole, Fiesta at the Fiesta Complex, the Sports Page Lounge, Cabana Beach Motel and Apartments, Fiesta Gift Shoppe, Sea-n-Sirloin Restaurant, White Pillars Gourmet Restaurant, Le Chateau Apartments, Traders Lounge, Rodenberg Properties, LLC, Fiesta, Inc. and Orleans, Inc. all in Biloxi. Jake is preceded in death by his parents. His survivors include his wife of 57 years, June Stojcich Mladinich; his children, Mary Kathleen Mladinich Spain, Andrew Jake Mladinich, III, Andra June Mladinich, April Mladinich Fairley and Tania Mladinich (William) Buchanan; his grandchildren, David Andrew Spain, Kathleen June Miller, Damien Alexander Spain, Dennis Anthony Spain, Andrew Jake (Katie) Mladinich, IV, Richard Anthony Mladinich, Jeffrey Randall (Heather) Fairley, II, Charlotte Renee Fairley (Eric) Martin, Amy Darlene Fairley, June Pierce Shivers, William Buchanan, V, Gavin Buchanan and Liam Buchanan; his great-grandchildren, Aubree Jade Mladinich, Rowan Christopher Fairley, Kaitlyn Shivers and Morgan Shivers. The family wishes to thank the aides, Georgette Durand, Harriet Picard, Kristin Trytten, Teresa Bilbo, Leslie Johns, Katina Barnes and Lisa Redmond as well as his nurses from Notre Dame Hospice, Hayden Huffman and Paul Cook, for taking such wonderful care of Jake. Visitation will be held on Monday, December 22, 2014 from 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm with funeral services on Tuesday, December 23, 2014 at 11:00 am, where friends may visit from 10:00 am until service time, all at the Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Southern Memorial Park.