OSSINING — John Chervokas, an advertising visionary who dreamed up the "Please Don't Squeeze the Charmin" campaign and used the power of persuasion as a leader in business and government, is being memorialized by colleagues and family following his death Saturday at the age of 74.
In 1964, Chervokas was a 28-year-old advertising writer for Benton & Bowles who was ordered to create a new campaign for a toilet-tissue brand, and he introduced a character named Mr. Whipple in what was to become one of the most famous advertising campaigns on Madison Avenue.
Chervokas took pride in his creation and fondly recalled Mr. Whipple in a 2000 interview, when he was serving as Ossining town supervisor. "I smile visibly," he said, whenever the subject came up. Advertising Age magazine ranked it the 51st best of the 20th century.
Said his son, Jason Chervokas, a resident of Hastings-on-Hudson, "He believed in the power of words. He was a great public speaker and a great sloganeer."
Chervokas, who stepped down as town supervisor in 2008 for health reasons, died of Parkinson's disease at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.
He was born Nov. 14, 1936, in Norwood, Mass., to Bronius and Anne Kurdika Chervokas. He graduated from Fordham University and went into advertising, reaching the position of executive vice president and chief creative officer of Sudler & Hennessey before retiring in 1994.
He served as executive director of the Greater Ossining Chamber of Commerce and president of the Ossining Board of Education. Chervokas, a Democrat, was elected Ossining town supervisor in 1997.
As supervisor, Chervokas finished a revised master plan charting future growth in town, promoted tourism in the region, blocked an unpopular natural gas pipeline proposal and completed a new police headquarters (which came under criticism for cost overruns.)
A colleague, Deputy Town Supervisor Geoff Harter, said of him: "He was very astute, and very effective at achieving compromise. By the same token, he could hold his ground if he felt it was best for the town. He had a huge memory for facts and figures, and he was an unbelievable communicator."
Chervokas also wrote books on spirituality, prayer, business and motivation, including, "God, Why Did They Ever Elect Me? — And Other Public Official Prayers."
He married the former Roseanna Conti in 1963, and the couple moved to Westchester. Longtime residents of Briarcliff Manor, they also lived in Ossining and Hastings.
Besides his son, Jason, Chervokas' other children include Josh of Manhattan and Jessica of Briarcliff. He is also survived by three grandchildren.
Visitation will be held at Dorsey Funeral Home in Ossining from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday. A memorial service will take place at St. Theresa Church in Briarcliff Manor at 11 a.m. Friday.
