PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
April 13, 2010
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Hratch Toufayan will be honored by the Eastern Diocese as its "Member of the
Year," on April 30 in Chicago
Award presentation will be part of the annual Diocesan Assembly gala banquet
"Church is so important to my dad," says Karen Toufayan Nargizian of this
year’s Armenian Church Member of the Year. "I know how much it meant for
him to be sitting in the front pew at the cathedral on Easter Sunday,
serving as this year’s godfather of the dove ceremony."
"During badarak he was teaching my son how to make the sign of the cross. I
know how much that meant to him-and to us."
For Hratch "Harry" Toufayan, this intergenerational aspect of the Armenian
Church is one of his deepest inspirations, and a motivation for his years of
service.
The seeds of his dedication were planted by his late parents, Harout and
Siranoush: survivors of the Genocide who were living exemplars of Armenian
Christian piety. They taught Hratch and his three siblings about the
importance of nurturing the Armenian way of life, in the home and in the
wider community.
Toufayan carried those family values with him when he immigrated to the
United States from Egypt. He became actively involved in church life, and
every Sunday, with his wife of four decades, Suzanne, beside him, Harry
takes part in the badarak at his home parish, the St. Mary Church of
Livingston, N.J.-surrounded by further generations of Toufayan children and
grandchildren.
"For my dad, it was very important to take us and my grandparents to church
every Sunday, to thank God for everything He had bestowed on our family,"
recalls his daughter, Kristine Toufayan Casali.
Harry and Suzanne remain pillars of their local parish, where the church
hall is named after Harry’s parents, and where the family is the major
benefactor of a planned expansion.
But over the years, the Toufayans’ legacy of good works has grown to leave
its mark on the Eastern Diocese and on the worldwide center of the Armenian
Church.
A gift to the children of Armenia
As great admirers and supporters of His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme
Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, the Toufayans were eager to lend
their help to Vehapar’s efforts on behalf of Armenia’s younger generation.
The result was the "Hratch and Suzanne Toufayan Youth Center," which opened
its doors in the summer of 2007, in the city of Etchmiadzin. His Holiness
presided over the opening ceremonies of the center, which provides creative
after-school programs for hundreds of students.
Surrounded by church and state dignitaries, cheering children, and the
entire Toufayan clan (who flew to the homeland for the occasion), Harry was
characteristically humble in his remarks. "This is a very proud moment for
me and my family," he said. "I have always wanted to give something to the
children of Armenia."
Indeed, it was a proud moment for the entire Toufayan family, whose members
were touched by the opening of the "Harry and Suzanne Toufayan Center,"
where a new on-premises soup kitchen is being dedicated this month.
"It was an unbelievable experience," recalls Kristine Casali of the 2007
opening. "I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what my parents had done,
and how the children in the Youth Center were so grateful. My children took
away so much from it and are always asking me when we are going back."
A few months later, Catholicos Karekin asked Harry to serve as godfather for
the Blessing of Water ceremony on Armenian Christmas, January 6, 2008. "It
was like a dream," he later recalled. "I was very honored to be
godfather-to be holding the cross at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin."
Out of Egypt
>From his parents, the young Hratch Toufayan learned to value the Armenian
heritage. Born and raised in Egypt, Mr. Toufayan and his siblings attended
Armenian school. He immigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1963, and
with his father’s encouragement he continued the family’s baking
business-which his father had started in Egypt in 1926-by opening up his
first baking plant in 1968. The business flourished over the ensuing
decades, with Toufayan Bakeries undergoing several expansions and moves.
The current plant in Ridgefield, N.J., employs 250 people, and plants in
Orlando and Plant City, Fla., together employ over 500.
Harry met his wife, Suzanne, while she worked as a registered nurse at New
York’s Mount Sinai Hospital. They were married in 1969 at the Holy Martyrs
Church in Bayside, N.Y., and they have been true partners in all their
achievements.
"The first thing Harry said to me when we met was, ‘I am Harry, and I am
Armenian,’" remembers Suzanne Toufayan, who has embraced Armenian culture
and traditions throughout their four decades of marriage. "I like the feel
of the Armenian Church and the involvement and strong feelings of Armenian
people, and how religion and culture are one."
Harry and Suzanne have been blessed with three children, Karen, Kristine,
and Gregory-all of whom are now involved in the family business-and seven
grandchildren. Family is very important to Harry and Suzanne and they speak
with great pride about their children and grandchildren. The family
traveled to Armenia together for the first time in 1983, an experience that
left deep impressions on everyone.
The Toufayan children look up to their father and appreciate his
achievements in the business world and in the Armenian community.
"My father’s very generous and giving, and is an inspiration to us all,"
says Kristine Casali, who traces her father’s motivation back to her
grandparents-particularly her grandfather who worked until he was 94 years
old. "My father passed that motivation onto us, and we all try to follow in
his footsteps."
"My father has been the pillar of our home. You can’t put his work ethic
into words," adds Karen Nargizian.
The feeling of love and support is mutual, as Harry is the first to admit.
"My wife and children have always supported me," he says. "We’re very
fortunate to have such a nice family."
Recently, Mr. Toufayan agreed to be the benefactor of a new Armenian Church
in Orlando, Fla. The St. Haroutiun Church-named in honor of Mr. Toufayan’s
father-will be consecrated this summer.
His major contributions to the Eastern Diocese culminated this past Easter,
when Harry, at the behest of Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, served as
godfather during the "Release of Doves" ceremony at St. Vartan Armenian
Cathedral in New York. Once more, the multi-generational Toufayan family
shared in the occasion, releasing twelve doves as a symbol of the Apostolic
mission to the world.
The ceremony neatly summed up a lifetime of exemplary activity by Harry
Toufayan, whereby the light of the church is spread through the family, to
illuminate the world.
"My children grew up in the Armenian Church," he says. "It’s been important
for us to stay religious, and to be good Armenians."
It’s a sentiment echoed by his wife, Suzanne. "From the day I met him until
now, Harry has been a hard-working man, a very good husband, and very
religious," she says. "He has made a lot of sacrifices and continues to
work hard for his family."
The Eastern Diocese is proud to name this exemplary man as its 2010
"Armenian Church Member of the Year." Hratch Toufayan will be presented
with the Diocese’s "Armenian of the Year" award at the 108th Diocesan
Assembly, in Chicago, Ill. The presentation will be made during the
assembly’s gala banquet on Friday evening, April 30, starting at 6:30 p.m.,
at the Marriott Chicago O’Hare Hotel. For information on the banquet and
this year’s Diocesan Assembly, log onto the host parish’s website,
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PHOTO CAPTION:
Hratch and Suzanne Toufayan, of New Jersey. Mr. Toufyan will be honored as
the Eastern Diocese’s "Armenian Church Member of the Year," at the gala
banquet of this year’s Diocesan Assembly in Chicago, on Friday, April 30.