Author: Vardapetian Ophelia

TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School
1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Tel: 323-461-4377
Fax: 323-461-4247
Contact: salpi@dickranianschool.org
Web:

ARSHAG DICKRANIAN SCHOOL PARTICIPATES IN NATIONAL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

The Dickranian Lions Travel to Las Vegas to Compete in the All Star High
School Boys’ Spring Basketball Classic
Los Angeles, April 11, 2009 -The TCA Arshag Dickranian School boys’
basketball team, aptly called the Dickranian Lions, will head for Las Vegas,
Nevada, to compete in the Double Pump All Star High School Boys’ Basketball
Tournament on April 24-26, 2009. This will be the team’s first travel out of
state accompanied by parents and members of the school Athletic Committee.
`The team is very excited to participate in this tournament, because this
will give every player the opportunity to be a part of a national and
highly competitive event for the first time.’ said Rudlph Rameh, the school’s
Athletic Director and Head Coach.
Double Pump was founded, in 1989, by brothers Dana and David Pump of
Chatsworth, Callifornia. The "Pumps" have forged a strong network of
relationships with university athletic directors, college coaches and the youth
basketball community. Recognized as the leader in service-based products that
specifically target high school, college athletics and the grassroots sports
industry, Double Pump is known to bring together the best talent and
industry leaders at all of their events. The three day tournament will take place
in several high schools at which time the Dickranian Lions will join a pool
of 12 teams from several states. Arrangements have been made that at their
opening game on April 24, the players will observe a minute of silence in
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
The Dickranian Lions often participate in various tournaments and
championships and are known for their neat appearance and their sports spirit.
Playing in the Double Pump All Star High School Boys’ Basketball Camp will help
The Dickranian Lions to be a member of the California Interscholastic
Federation (CIF) next year.
Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag
Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th grade
private educational institution. For more information visit
_www.dickranianschool.org_ () .
###

ARMENIA CELEBRATES THE HOLY RESURRECTION
Anahit Minasyan

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.04.2009 GMT+04:00

The symbols of Easter in the old days were straw dolls Grandma Utis,
mistress of the Armenian cuisine, and Grandpa Paz, who held in hands
exactly 40 threads, a stone being tied at the end of each one.

On April 11, the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) begins to celebrate
the Easter, one of the six patronal festivals. From sunset till
late night all the churches of the Armenian Apostolic Church serve
Liturgy that marks the end of Lent and the Resurrection of Jesus
Christ. The celebration of the dead and resurrected god dates back to
the ancient Egyptian religion, when the Egyptians celebrated the death
and resurrection of God Osiris. Present Christian Easter takes its
origin from the Old Testament. The old Jews celebrated the Passover
(Pesach) as the holiday of exodus of Jews from Egypt.

The symbols of Easter in the old days were straw dolls Grandma Utis,
mistress of the Armenian cuisine, and Grandpa Paz, who held in the
hands exactly 40 threads, a stone being tied at the end of each
one. With each approaching day of Easter a stone was untied, thus
performing calculation of the days.

With about two weeks left till Easter, people used to grow wheat on
plates. This custom has been preserved till now. An integral part of
Easter home decorations also used to be the puppets Aklatis as well
as the Easter tree, which on Friday evening, a day before Easter,
was decorated with eggs embroidered with colorful threads.

According to painter Lusik Aguletsi, the puppets Aklatis as a
symbol of good luck were put in the house since the first day of
Lent. According to belief, it symbolized the male origin. And after
Easter, women had to burn or throw Aklatis into water. In the old
days on Easter Armenian women cooked "Nvik" from "white greens", and
"kutap" – a pie with onion and bean filling. Because Easter was also
believed to be time for fortune-telling, Armenian women baked "gata",
in which they put a coin. The already baked gata was cut among the
family members and unprecedented success awaited the one who would
find the coin. According to another belief, luck was dealt out on
Easter, and the one who would fall asleep that night would lose his
opportunity of getting a stroke of luck.

On Saturday evening there were to be fish, greens and sweet rice on
the table, which marked the end of Lent, during which meat dishes were
undesirable. In Armenia and Diaspora greens are served in a variety of
ways: in Iran, for example, Armenians fry different herbs with eggs,
while in Armenia people prepare only one variety of fresh herbs:
spinach, asparagus or "sibekh", which grows only on the Armenian
Plateau.

In old times, folk festivals continued till late night. On Monday it
is customary to visit the graves of the dead. It should be noted that
in the Armenian Church Calendar the Monday after a patronal festival
is a Remembrance Day.

PanARMENIAN.Net

What role can the USA play in normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations?

Karine Ter-Sahakyan

Producers of the performance `Normalization of Armenian-Turkish
Relations’ are now drawing up various models of behavior for Yerevan,
Ankara and Baku.
07.04.2009 GMT+04:00

President Barack Obama’s visit to Europe ended in an optimistic note:
he visited the Mosque of Hagia Sophia, communicated with the religious
figures and students in Turkey. From the point of view of maintaining
President Obama’s own image, the visit was obviously successful. Both
in Europe and Turkey Obama was received as a new US figure, who is
trying to speedily do away with the heritage of George Bush Jr. It is
difficult to assess the extent to which Obama’s efforts have been a
success so far, but it’s a fact that in certain foreign issues the new
US president is still acting «in a typically American
manner».

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ What was the cost of Obama’s statement on the
necessity of Turkey to join the EU? Obama couldn’t but be aware of
President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel’s expected reaction, but he
simply thought `it might work’. In fact, it didn’t. To take Turkey
into the EU would mean to put an end to Europe in its present
situation, and if the advisers of the US President have not made it
clear to him, there is nothing more to speak about¦

As Mark Almond writes in The Times, repairing the rifts that George
W. Bush left in America’s relations with old friends is the key thrust
of the early Obama agenda. `When the Turkish parliament failed to back
the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, it left the State Department’s
spokesman speechless. `The Turks have done what?!’ he wailed as he
ripped up his script about America’s reliable NATO partner backing the
war against Saddam Hussein. Worse still for President Obama is the
fraught triangular relationship between the United States, Turkey and
the EU. Turkey has spent decades trying to join the EU, only to see
former Communist states in Eastern Europe leapfrog over it,’ notices
Almond.

Obama’s visit is interesting for Armenia from the point of view of the
US role in fence-mending between Yerevan and Ankara. On the whole,
Barack Obama justified the Armenian hopes: not uttering the word
`genocide’ he yet underlined that his position is unchanged and urged
Turkey to `reckon with its past’. Naturally, the border will be opened
neither on April 16, nor after April 24. Producers of the performance
`Normalization of Armenian-Turkish Relations’ are now drawing up
various models of behavior for Yerevan, Ankara and Baku. The
«dress rehearsal», as usual, may end in nothing: they
will hold discussions, feel out each other’s positions and leave it
till next football match, due in October. But much may occur in the
near future ` the expected meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani
presidents at the summit of `Eastern Partnership’, due in Prague on
May 7. In other words, once again everything rests on the regulation
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which, by value for Armenia, is
equal to the US recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

There exists also the Azeri factor, which not once has been dwelt on
in our analyses. In connection with Obama’s visit to Istanbul, Baku
has started an unprecedented campaign for hindering the opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border. Letters, requirements ` everything is
used. Even Ilham Aliyev refused to attend the summit `Dialogue among
Civilizations’¦ In the words of Azeri political analyst Zardusht
Alizade, opening of border between Armenia and Turkey is the job of
two independent states, and Azerbaijan must not meddle with
it. Azerbaijan must herself solve her problems and the Karabakh
conflict in particular, and not ask it of Turkey. Opening of border
between Armenia and Turkey is the domestic affair of these countries,
where Azerbaijan is a third party and has nothing to do with opening
the border. `It is a bit difficult to give the precise date of opening
the border as it depends on the negotiation process between the two
countries,’ Alizade said, Azeri media reports.

The Turkish opening to Armenia has potentially significant
implications for the balance of power in the Caucasus, says annual
report issued by Stratfor analytical center. `The August 2008
Russo-Georgian war created an unstable situation in an area of vital
importance to Russia. Inn this regard, normalization of relations
between Turkey and Armenia is of extreme importance. Armenians had
long held Turkey responsible for the mass murder of Armenians during
and after World War I, a charge the Turks have denied. The
U.S. Congress for several years has threatened to pass a resolution
condemning Turkish genocide against Armenians. The Turks are
extraordinarily sensitive to this charge, and passage would have meant
a break with the United States,’ the report says in particular.

Even if we take into consideration the fact that Turkey is someway
moving away from America, trying to play her own role in the region
and also in the whole world, the US Congress’ resolution on the
Armenian Genocide would really affect the balance in the region that
includes not only the Great Middle East, but also the Central Asia or,
to be more exact, the Turkic world. Armenia will appear in complete
isolation and will have to make concessions that may put the country
on the verge of existence. This is the worst scenario, but,
unfortunately, predictable.

TURKISH BUSINESSMEN TO ISSUE REPORT ON "NEW PERIOD" IN RELATIONS WITH USA

Anadolu Agency
April 9 2009
Turkey

Istanbul, 9 April: The Association of Turkish Industrialists and
Businessmen (Tusiad) will present a report in the United States
discussing new period of Turkish-US relations.

Tusiad issued a report and said a Tusiad delegation led by Chairwoman
Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag would visit Washington, DC, and New York
between 13 and 15 April to hold several talks.

The Tusiad delegation will organize a seminar and introduce the report
titled, "Restructuring of the alliance: New period in Turkish-US
relation – Turkey perspective".

Tusiad statement said the report includes Turkey’s EU process,
Middle East problem, regional security perspective, Armenian problem,
Eurasia and energy policies, as well as economic relations and proposes
tangible policies.

The statement said Tusiad delegation would meet with the former US
secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, IMF First Deputy Managing
Director John Lipsky, executives of US State Department and National
Security Council, and executives of important think-tank organizations
of the United States, like Brookings Institute and German Marshall
Fund.

The parties are expected to assess recent political and economic
developments, Armenian problem and regional matters, according to
the statement.

The Tusiad delegation, during talks in New York, will exchange views
on economy matters with the representatives of US business world and
financial sector.

A TRIBUTE TO FORMER US PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON

PanARMENIAN.Net
11.04.2009 00:41 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A tribute to former President Woodrow Wilson drew
more than 50 visitors to the Glendale Public Library to hear about
his role in drawing the borders for an independent Armenian nation,
Glendale Newspress reports.

Wilson’s great-great-grandson, Donald Wilson Bush, and the curator
of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library in Staunton, Va., Jarod
Kearney, were on hand to speak about the late president’s push for
an independent Armenia.

Wilson drew a map of the Armenian territories as part of a peace treaty
in 1920, after the demise of the Ottoman Empire following World War I,
Kearney said.

But within three years, Turkey claimed some of that territory by force,
and the land was included as part of the country in a treaty signed
in 1923, said Michael Sosikian, president of the Defense Council of
Western Armenia, which hosted the event.

Since then, Armenians have been pushing for international recognition
of "Wilsonian Armenia," Sosikian said.

The presence of the two guest speakers was an indication that Armenians
are not alone in pushing for the expanded borders to be realized,
visitors said.

"It’s a validation, if you will," Woodland Hills resident Vatche
Kasparian said.

Wilson’s push for Armenian independence went along with his ideals,
Kearney said. "Woodrow Wilson was not only a key player in the
Armenians’ process, but a champion of self-determination," he said.

Bush acknowledged the host organization’s continuing struggle for
an expanded Armenia and opened his remarks with a declaration of
solidarity.

"I am here tonight to support your cause," he said.

He hoped that President Obama would be able to facilitate a dialogue
between Armenia and Turkey to move toward expanding the Christian
nation.Bush also voiced admiration for the peaceful push for land
rights made by Armenians, even as marginal progress has been made.

"I’ve been watching you closely for the past decade, and I still
don’t know how you do it," he said

ABDULLAH GUL: THE YEAR 2009 IS A YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE PROBLEMS IN THE CAUCAUS

ArmInfo
2009-04-09 17:39:00

ArmInfo. "The major problem in the Caucasus is the Karabagh question
between Armenia and Azerbaijan, We wish that this problem is resolved
so that a new climate emerges in the Caucasus, because in fact although
this is a relatively small area it can become a wall between East
and West or it can become a gateway",- Turkish President Abdullah
Gul said in his interview with Financial Times.

"We are in a great effort to resolve these problems in the Caucasus
and I believe that the year 2009 is a year of opportunity in that
respect. And therefore I would like to invite everybody, beginning
with the Minsk group, to multiply their efforts to come up with a
solution",- Gul said.

Touching upon the Armenian-Turkish relations, Gul pointed out that
Armenia and Turkey have been efforts at normalisation from time to
time, but these efforts accelerated after his visit to Armenia. "This
visit was a historical visit because this was the first time a Turkish
president was in Yerevan and from that time on from telephone calls and
other communications we have come to a certain mutual understanding
on normalisation of relations. Through bilateral talks, I can say
that we have reached a good understanding towards normalisation",-
the Turkish president said.

ADAA FILM FESTIVAL TO TAKE PLACE IN BOSTON

22_4/10/2009_1
Thursday, April 9, 2009

BOSTON–The Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance is proud to present the
Second Annual Armenian Film Festival at The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
from May 1 to 3. The festival celebrates Armenian culture, heritage,
language and filmmakers with films ranging from the documentary to
the dramatic. The festival kicks off on Friday evening, May 1st,
at 7:00 pm, with The Blue Hour by Eric Nazarian, a film following
several strangers in Los Angeles whose stories of loss and hope cross
in small but sometimes profound ways. This will be followed by a Q&A
with the director Eric Nazarian, after which a welcome reception will
take place for the film makers and attendees.

On Saturday, May 2, at 5 p.m., the focus will be French Armenian
filmmakers, with films from Serge Avedikian, Levon Minasian and Varant
Soudjian. Saturday evening programming will conclude with The Mermaid
directed by Ana Melikyan and produced by Robert Dishdishyan. This
charming contemporary fairy tale follows a young girl who discovers
she has the power to make people’s wishes come true. This film was
Russia’s entry for the 2009 Academy Awards.

Sunday afternoon, May 3 will begin at 3 p.m. with programming for
a younger audience, beginning with 12 short music videos, produced
by Armenian film makers, for the politically aware band System of a
Down. The main feature presentation will be FLOAT, a film by Hrach
Titizian shot in Glendale, CA with Armenian actors. The director
will be available for a Q&A and a cocktail hour from 5 to 6 p.m.,
which will be open to the audience.

Sunday night will conclude with the new film Autumn by Ozcan Alper
shown in the Hamshen dialect with subtitles. Autumn tells the tale
of a political prisoner after his release. This debut feature from
Alper has been winning numerous awards.

This year’s festival is sponsored by Alfred Demirjian and
Techfusion.com and programmed by Bianca Bagatourian and Jane Minasian.

TICKETS: MFA members, seniors, and students $10; general admission
$12. Opening night tickets $25 MFA members, seniors and students
$20. To purchase please call the box office at 617-369-3306 or purchase
online at

Complete Schedule:

The Blue Hour preceded by Dinner Time Fri, May 1, 7 pm

The Blue Hour by Eric Nazarian (2007, 93 min). In The Blue Hour several
strangers in Los Angeles weave their stories of loss and hope, not
knowing that their lives are connected in small but sometimes profound
ways. A multi-ethnic ensemble drama, the film explores the connections
between a Mexican graffiti muralist, an Armenian camera repairman, an
African-American blues guitarist, and an English pensioner living near
the Los Angeles River. The subtle film actively engages the audience to
connect the dots and shows Krzysztof Kieslowski’s and Robert Bresson’s
influence on Nazarian. Dinner Time by Gor Baghdasaryan (Armenia,
2006, 3 min.). Shot in the northern Armenian town of Vanadzor, this
short film shows a very poor family having dinner in a small hut.

The Mermaid (Rusalka) preceded by Ligne de Vie Sat, May 2, 8 pm
The Mermaid (Rusalka) by Anna Melikyan (Russia, 2008, 100 min). In
this charming film, a young girl, Alisa, takes a vow of silence to
protest her mom’s refusal to enroll her in ballet class. When her
silence is mistaken for an intellectual disability, Alisa is sent to a
special-needs school in a rural town. With the help of another student,
Alisa discovers she can make people’s wishes come true. When she turns
eighteen and moves to Moscow, she wonders if her extraordinary gift
might also be a curse. Similar in style and tone to Amelie, Mermaid
features digital deception to enhance the fantastical elements. The
original Russian title refers to the water sprit of Slavic myth,
also referenced in Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Little Mermaid."

In Russian with English subtitles. Ligne de Vie by Serge Av?dikian
(France, 2003, 12 min.). In this animated film, Av?dikian illustrates
the lives and dreams of captured soldiers.

Float preceded by System of a Down Music Videos Sun, May 3, 3 pm

Float by Johnny Asuncion and Hrach Titizian (2008, 95 min). An ice
cream parlor is the centerpiece of this quirky dramatic comedy with
a unique visual style. Ray, the owner, separates from his long-time
wife and decides to move in with his bachelor employees, Gevorg and
Ramon. Things get complicated when Ray’s daughter, Emily, arrives to
help reconcile her parent’s relationship and forms a bond with Gevorg,
Ramon considers marrying a beautiful Armenian girl, but falls for her
best friend, Tami instead. Float tells the stories of very different
people trying to connect with each other and themselves. System of a
Down Music Videos by George Tonikian (12 min.). The four members of
this Grammy Award winning American rock band are of Armenian origin and
are know for their politically charged songs about Armenian genocide,
Capitalism, discrimination, and pacifism.

Three Documentaries by Serge Av?dikian: We Drank the Same Water (Nous
avons bu le m?me eau) preceded by Lux Aeterna and Terra Emota Sat,
May 2, 5 pm

We Drank the Same Water (Nous avons bu le m?me eau) (France, 2007,
72 min.). When Serge Av?dikian was invited to a theater festival in
Istanbul in 1987, he could not resist crossing the Sea of Marmara
to go and seek the town his Armenian grandfather lived in. The day
he spent in this town left him with haunting memories. Incomplete,
half-stolen images remained, revealing the furtive traces of an
Armenian community forced to leave in the 1920s. Most of the film
centers on Av?dikian’s return to Soloz in 2006 and attempts to restore
the dialogue between Armenians and Turks and enable people to turn
their minds to the future without forgetting their past. In French
with English subtitles. Lux Aeterna by Serge Av?dikian and Levon
Minasian (1998, 11 min.). On December 7, 1988, a terrible earthquake
ravaged an entire region of Armenia, including its second-largest city,
Leninakan. Several hours after the seismic shock, the directors began
to film the devastation. Terra Emota by Serge Av?dikian and Levon
Minasian (1999, 10 min.). Ten years after the terrible earthquake
that destroyed the city of Leninakan, the directors returned to the
scene to record the city and its inhabitants.

Autumn (Sonbahar) preceded by The Second Wind Sun, May 3, 6 pmAutumn
(Sonbahar)(2008, 106 min.) by Ozan Alper, tells the story of a
man struggling after his release after ten years as a political
prisoner. He returns to his home near the Black Sea and falls in love
with a Georgian prostitute. (Turkish, Georgian, Hamshen dialogue)
A powerfully realized inner journey, this is a debut film by the
first film maker from this region. The Second Wind by Varant Soudjian
(France, 2008, 18 min.). The story of a young pickpocket living in
a small village.

ARMENIAN BANKS DAILY LOSS 4.7BLN AMD AFTER FLOATING RATE SET

ARKA
Apr 9, 2009

YEREVAN, April 9. /ARKA/. The CBA’s return to a floating rate policy
caused 4.7bln AMD losses to the Armenian banks on March 3 alone,
Chairman of the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) Artur Javadyan told
reporters at the international press center Novosti.

On March 3, the Central Bank of Armenia (CBA) announced a return to a
floating rate policy. As a result, 66.36% AMD depreciation against the
USD was recorded as compared with March 2. The exchange rate between
the AMD and USD was 372.11 AMD/$1 on March 3. CBA experts say that
the average exchange rate will range between 360-380 AMD/$1 during
this year.

"The exchange adjustments created an unfavorable situation for Armenian
banks mostly had short foreign exchange positions," Javadyan said.

According to him, the panic observed in the country since last December
caused this behavior on the part of banks.

"Most depositors converted their AMD accounts into USD ones, which
disturbed the balance between the banks’ assets and credits issued
by them," Javadyan said.

SABOUNJIAN TO WITHDRAW CANDIDACY FROM NORTH METN TO MAKE PAKRADOUNIAN UNCONTESTED WINNER

NowLebanon
April 8 2009
Lebanon

A source told NOW Lebanon on Wednesday that the Tashnaq party
candidate, Nazareth Sabounjian, would withdraw his candidacy for the
upcoming parliamentary elections in the northern Metn district.

The party’s decision came following the April 7 deadline to apply for
candidacy, when the Tashnaq learned that its first candidate, MP Hagop
Pakradounian, did not face competition in the northern Metn district.

As a result, Sabounjian would withdraw his candidacy in favor of
Pakradounian, who would consequently be the uncontested Armenian
winner in North Metn.

COMMUNITY REGROUPS AFTER ITS PASTOR’S DEATH
By Tom Vartabedian

community-regroups-after-its-pastor%e2%80%99s-deat h/
April 8,2009

Weeks after his death, a community continues to mourn the loss of
its beloved pastor.

The passing of Der Vartan Kassabian March 12 has sent the Merrimack
Valley reeling with aftershock and cast parishioners from St. Gregory
Church into a bereaved state.

It’s not something anyone can forget overnight, much less an
eternity. But like he would have wished, grief must be replaced by
healing and the congregation must persevere.

If anything, this pastor always preached vitality and encouraged his
flock to settle for nothing less.

As Sunday School students come to grips with reality, several are
looking to the church for strength. The priest who once humored them
with a casual Sunday sermon is no longer there.

He taught them well. Hopefully, the lessons will guide them toward
greater maturity.

Local genocide committees will miss his sturdy presence at
commemorations where prayers will mourn his loss. If anything, they
will remember the man for his oratorical brilliance and the knack
for always finding the right words in a dire situation.

Two years ago, when vandals destroyed some genocide billboards around
Greater Boston, Armenians everywhere were aghast.

Could this be another vile Turkish prank? Such vandalism made the
Boston papers with pity.

As the Armenian public criticized the act, Der Vartan found a positive
side. In an invocation he delivered, he told the audience that such
acts were "a blessing in disguise."

"The publicity we received from this caught the eye of every
sympathetic reader and underscored nine decades of intolerance by
our people toward Turkey," he pointed out. "You can’t buy this kind
of press. They did us a favor."

With his pearls of wisdom, Der Vartan was like a firefly on a moonless
night, casting certain radiance where there was none.

The elderly continue to wallow with grief. Each Sunday, he would
regale them with words of inspiration, whether it was from the altar
or during a coffee hour. Shortly after his father’s death, Mgo walked
into an Armenian School class and sat with the younger students.

His place, he felt, was with them as words of encouragement flowed from
his mouth. A year ago this time, his essay on genocide recognition took
first prize. As another contest took effect, he urged the students
to enter, get involved, make a difference in their church, much the
same way his father had intended.

As another phase of a renovation project takes place inside the
church, there seems to be greater initiative than ever to get the
work accomplished in his memory. A better tribute couldn’t be possible.

The Easter season took on greater significance this year as in the past
with the death of Christ resurrecting an entire Christian nation. In
some ways, the same could be said for Der Vartan’s demise.

Life after death.

Visiting clergy continue to do their part until a replacement is
named. Every promise has been made by the hierarchy to find a suitable
pastor. To walk in his shoes would be a daunting task for any cleric.

Meanwhile, a congregation has been enamored to carry on the work he
so delegated to others.

Jesus Christ died two centuries ago. Presidents like Abe Lincoln
and John F. Kennedy are gone. Our rich, classical composers, Bach,
Beethoven, Mozart set their own standard.

Are they really dead? Are not their words and music still heard?

Der Vartan had no illusions of grandeur, yet he was grand in his own
humble, charismatic way. The man some predicted would never make a
good priest was fit to be a prince of his church.

It isn’t the quantity of life-the number of years-that matters, but
rather the quality, how that life was lived. Der Vartan lived his 51
years exceptionally well.

In an age of takers, he was a giver. Like the coin of life, his
life was dedicated to two sides, his family and his work. For that,
he leaves behind a rich legacy we have all grown to appreciate.

He took the time to love and laugh-to serve and enjoy countless
friendships. He took the time to dream, play and reflect a little
more than we ordinarily would.

Der Vartan didn’t need a clock in his timeless journey, or a schedule
to maintain. He killed time by working it to death.

What you do for yourself unfortunately dies with you. But what you
do for others lives on after you. A man such as Der Vartan will never
die in the eyes of a grateful community.