Newspaper cartoonist and illustrator Joe Yeninas has passed away.
Joseph John (Joe) Yeninas
May 10, 1934 – May 29, 2020
newspaper cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic editor
From the Joseph J. Yeninas Creative Arts Fund:
In 1953 Joe Yeninas joined the Marine Corps, deciding to pass up an opportunity to play Minor League baseball. Shortly after his return from the Marine Corps., he did play professional baseball as a catcher for a while. When he felt his arm giving out, he went into the newspaper industry doing political cartoons and layout.
Yeninas began his career in journalism in the graphics department of the Newark Evening News, where he also drew a weekly sports cartoon. His cartoons eventually included current news items, including the 1967 Newark riots.
Joe Yeninas, a pen and ink illustrator, joined the Newark News—once the country’s 11th largest daily newspaper—after service in the U.S. Marine Corp. He was responsible for the newspaper’s sports cartoons and editorial cartoons, as well as informational graphics for which he received several awards. When the staff at the News struck the newspaper in May 1971, he was a picket line co-captain and met an editor, Barbara Spector, who was his co-captain. Romance bloomed and the two were married seven months later.
He left the News after the strike and joined The Associated Press as a cartoonist and illustrator. Yeninas’ cartoons and drawings appeared on the pages of the 1,500 newspapers the AP served throughout the 16 years he remained there. The historic business newspaper, The Journal of Commerce, then hired him to establish and lead its art department.
The Newark News – 7 years
The Associated Press – 16 years
The Journal of Commerce – 10 years
