Donald Lee Jurwich

Donald Lee Jurwich, beloved husband, father and grandfather, writer/director/producer, died peacefully at his home on July 13th, 2021, from natural causes. He is survived by his loving wife, Edna, his son, Stephen, his daughter, Jennifer and his son-in-law, Paul, his grandson, Kyle, and his faithful companion and lap dog, Zoey.

Don was born on January 1st, 1934 in Los Angeles, California; the only child of Chester and Ruth Jurwich.

When he got out of the army he attended Art Center College of Design, where he was later invited back to teach a class in storyboarding.

He began his 40-year career in animation as a layout and background artist, worked his way up to storyboarding and eventually became a producer/director. Over the course of his career, he worked for various studios

including Hanna-Barbera and Marvel Productions and contributed to classics such as the Road Runner, The Pink Panther, Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Flintstones, George of the Jungle, Yogi Bear, Droopy: Master Detective, and Tom & Jerry (along with their mini-me successor, the Tom & Jerry Kids Show). He produced the Emmy Nominated Saturday morning series, “The Smurfs,” and he worked on the cult classic, Heavy Metal.

At Hanna-Barbera, he produced and directed Scooby Doo along with many other shows. At Marvel, he produced “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends,” and “The Incredible Hulk and the Amazing Spiderman.” He also produced and directed 85 half-hour episodes of GI Joe, along with the miniseries, “GI Joe: The Movie,” which was later released as a feature film.

Over the years he dabbled in fine art, and when he finally retired he was able to dedicate himself to drawing and painting full-time, culminating in 2 successful art shows at the Animation Guild in Burbank, CA and a large body of work.

Don loved movies, watching football, traveling, and spending time with his family. He was a kind and generous man and he will be greatly missed by many.