New resident brings spirit of volunteerism to the Presbyterian Manor community

When Frank Jurotich moved into a cottage at Rolla Presbyterian Manor, he began looking around for a way to be useful.

The independent living resident now spends part of his week visiting with residents in the assisted living and health care neighborhoods.

Frank moved to Presbyterian Manor last December after the death of his wife of 60 years, Judith.

“After a few months, I got to thinking I didn’t need all that space,” he said.

His volunteer work within the community is simply an extension of a lifelong commitment to community service. He even served as mayor of Dellwood, Missouri for one two-year term. At the age of 25, he was then the youngest elected mayor in the country.

Frank began working as a hospice volunteer in Chicago, where he worked as the manager of facilities engineering for an international corporation for 22 years.

After he retired, he and Judith wanted to return to Missouri. He was born and raised in St. Louis, but they decided to settle in the Rolla area because they liked this part of the state.

Frank continued volunteering for a hospice in Rolla for seven years. A 60-year member of the Masonic order, he also continued to be active with the Order of the Amaranth and the Order of the Eastern Star. In 2015, he served as the head officer for the Missouri chapter of the latter organization.

After they moved to Rolla, the Jurotichs attended an informational session about the CASA program. The acronym stands for “court appointed special advocate,” a nationwide network of volunteers who help find permanent placement for children who are in the child welfare system because of alleged or confirmed instances of abuse or neglect.

After the meeting, Judith told Frank it wasn’t something she thought she could do — but she knew he could.

Frank volunteered with CASA for 14 years and discovered he had an affinity for working with teens, many of whom had also been touched by the juvenile justice system.

“You just hope that you help put them on the right track,” said Frank, who had “more successes than failures” during his tenure with the program.

“When you’re successful in helping a child transition into adulthood, it makes it all worth it,” Frank said.

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