Sarkis Giragosian

Sarkis Giragosian

1928 – 2020

Sarkis Giragosian entered his eternal rest on Thursday, April 2, 2020, following a brief illness.  Sarkis was born in Philadelphia to Setrag and Lousaper Giragosian and had two siblings, Rose and George, both of whom predeceased him.  A lifelong member of St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church, Sarkis grew up in west Philadelphia, where he attended Bartram High School, before going on to Drexel University for his engineering degree, and later, an MBA.  He was a mechanical engineer at Rohm & Haas for over 25 years and, following his retirement, operated a beer store and sold real estate.  Sarkis served in the Army during the Korean War, though was not deployed overseas. 

Sarkis married Sirvart (“Sue”) Bagdigian in 1952 and enjoyed married life together for over 67 years, living in Huntingdon Valley for most of that time before moving to a retirement community 3 years ago.  They were blessed with two daughters, Lucy (Momjian) and Linda (Bohdjelian) and sons-in-law, Arthur Momjian and Aram Bohdjelian, four grandchildren (Ani, Talene, Peter and Gregory), grandson-in-law, Nick Kybert, and four great grandchildren (Mia, Kate, Henry and Paige).   Family was extremely important to Sarkis.  He would often say that “nothing was better than being a father, grandfather and great grandfather.”

Church and spirituality were likewise very important to him.  He was a board member at St. Gregory’s for several years in the 1960s and 1970s and could often be seen packaging and distributing mass or sometimes passing the collection plate on Sundays.  He personally crafted from plexiglass the letters on the nave above the church altar.  His parents were early leaders in the church and Armenian community as well, and his mother was instrumental in bringing many families to Philadelphia in the wake of the post-genocide diaspora.

Sarkis had a dry and sarcastic sense of humor.  He also enjoyed tinkering.  Whether it was gardening or mowing the lawn, fixing things around the house, cooking or baking, or working on his investment portfolio, he enjoyed many things.  He also enjoyed doing puzzles and even had the opportunity to appear on “Wheel of Fortune” in 1993, on which he won a vacation cruise to the Caribbean.

His spirit, wit and love will be missed.  May he rest in peace.

A private, graveside burial service will be held next week.

Memorial donations can be made to St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church, 8701 Ridge Ave. Phila., PA 19128

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