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Dear Friends,
A memorial
service will be held for Kevork Hovnanian at St. Vartan Cathedral in
New York City, on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at 2:00 p.m.
We will mourn the loss of an outstanding American Armenian and a founder of the Fund for Armenian Relief.
- The FAR Family
In Memoriam: Kevork S. Hovnanian (1923-2009)
With great sorrow, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America mourns the death of Mr. Kevork S. Hovnanian, who passed away on September 24, 2009, at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He was 86.
It would be impossible in a few words to pay proper tribute to Mr. Hovnanian, or to convey what he has meant to the Armenian Church, to the Republic of Armenia, and to the cause of our people. Our own Diocese was blessed to have his active presence, his wise counsel, and his bold, imaginative leadership, as part of its daily experience for many years. His influence over our leadership bodies-principally the Fund for Armenian Relief, the Armenian Church Endowment Fund, and the Diocesan Board of Directors-has been incalculable. Indeed, were it not for Kevork Hovnanian, our Diocese would be a vastly different institution today.
Mr. Hovnanian was also a great supporter of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. Among his many benefactions was the renovation of the 130-year-old Kevorkian Seminary.
Certainly, he was one of the great men of his generation; a giant not only in Armenian affairs, but in the worlds of industry, international commerce, and philanthropy. He felt at ease among great dignitaries and world leaders. Yet he was equally at home among people of every station and walk of life.
It has been my privilege to witness the great faith and piety which animated his actions, and filled his heart-a quality which he shared with his loving wife, Sirvart, their children Sossi, Esto, Ara, Lucy, and Nadia, and their many grandchildren. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them.
He was above all a family man, the patriarch of a vibrant, noble, and loving family, in whose intense embrace he spent his final days. On Monday, September 28, the family held a private funeral, over which I presided, at the St. Stepanos Church of Elberon, N.J., which Mr. Hovnanian had built in honor of his mother.
We wish to inform the public that a memorial service will be held for Kevork Hovnanian at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral in New York City, on Saturday, October 3, 2009, at 2:00 p.m.
The family has asked that in-lieu-of-flowers donations in memory of Kevork Hovnanian be made to the Fund for Armenian Relief (630 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016), or to the St. Stepanos Armenian Church endowment trust fund (1184 Ocean Avenue, Elberon, N.J. 07740).
A brief film produced by the Fund for Armenian Relief in 2006, honoring Mr. Hovnanian's remarkable contributions to our church and to the Republic of Armenia, is available on our Diocesan website, at www.armenianchurch.net.
May our risen Lord remember his faithful servant on the day of His judgment.
With prayers,
Archbishop Khajag Barsamian
Primate
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