Sirvart (Sue) Giragosian

Sue Giragosian
October 4, 1929 – January 1, 2026

Sirvart (Sue) Giragosian entered her eternal rest on January 1, 2026, at the age of 96.  Born in Camden, NJ to Armenian immigrants who escaped Turkey, Kapriel and Vartouhi Bagdigian, Sue was the younger sister of Alice Bagdigian.  The family moved from Camden to west Philadelphia in her childhood and opened a small convenience store at the front of their home.  Following her high school graduation, Sue became an administrative assistant, initially at Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia.
Sue married her lifelong partner, Sarkis (“Sark”) Giragosian, in 1952.  Sue and Sark were blessed with two daughters, Lucy (Art Momjian) and Linda (Aram Bohdjelian).  The family initially lived in northeast Philadelphia, before moving to Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.  Sue enjoyed her role as a mother and homemaker.  At home, she developed passions for cooking, baking, and gardening.  As a result, summertime meant delicious “garden to table” dinners and Sue concocted tasty meals with stews, salads and desserts featuring the produce from their garden.  She and Sark enjoyed entertaining family and friends at home often and held regular bridge games with friends. They were active members of St. Gregory’s Armenian Apostolic Church, where Sue taught Sunday School and was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary.  
While living most of her life in the Delaware Valley, Sue enjoyed the two years the family spent in England in the early 1970s, when Sark was transferred there by his firm, Rohm & Haas.  Though she missed her family and friends in the US, it became a period of growth.  She embraced the experience by making friends there and developing new hobbies, like “brass rubbing,” antiquing and travel to the continent.   Sue had to drive the girls to school daily and, while initially white knuckled, she managed to be undistracted by the backseat clamor of “don’t forget to go left at the roundabout, Mom!!”  Sue and Sark enjoyed entertaining in the UK and sharing their Armenian and American cuisine with their British guests.  Her next-door neighbor constantly gushed about Sue’s “cinnamon buns.”
When the family returned to the US, Sue decided to pursue her interest in cosmetics and sold cosmetics at the Elizabeth Arden counter at John Wanamaker’s department store.   Her interest and interpersonal skills enabled her to excel at it, and she won sales awards that took her and Sark on trips to the Caribbean during her time there.
Most importantly, Sue and Sark embraced the time spent with their growing family.  They loved their roles as “Mommom and Poppop” to Ani Kybert-Momjian (Nick Kybert), Talene Momjian, Peter Bohdjelian and Gregory Bohdjelian. They regularly attended their grandchildren’s sporting events and school performances and always enjoyed visits, babysitting opportunities and just playing with them.  This joy was compounded when they got to know their great grandchildren, Mia, Kate, Henry and Paige Kybert-Momjian for whom Sue adapted her name to “GG.”  They always brought immense joy to her when they visited from Oregon.  
Sue was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in her later years, which impacted her mobility as she aged.  She and Sark moved to Spring Mill Presbyterian Village in 2017 and, following Sark’s passing in 2020, Sue moved to Rydal Park in Jenkintown, PA for more intensive care. She made many friends there and enjoyed participating in games and craft activities  - and was warmly known as “GG” by all.  She also enjoyed the regular visits, calls and the special foods brought by her family and friends when they stopped in.  And, forever embracing her role as a caring mother/grandmother/great grandmother, every family visit ended with her thanking us for coming and telling us she loved us and to be careful going home.
While Sue will be dearly missed by her family, they feel blessed that she lived such a long, loving and happy life and are grateful for those who participated in it.  
Services in her memory will be held at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, 8701 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA on Saturday, January 10, 2026.  Friends and family are are welcome to attend the calling hour 10 am to 11 am followed by the funeral at 11 am.  Her interment will follow at Arlington Cemetery. 
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to St. Gregory’s Church or to the charity of your choice.

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