Stephen R. Selverian

STEPHEN (STEVE) RICHARD SELVERIAN passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on October 22, 2025. Born on June 22, 1939, Stephen was the oldest of three children of Richard Diran Selverian, an Armenian Genocide survivor, and Zarouhi (Sarah) Najarian, in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

As a child, Stephen grew up surrounded by a close New England family, especially his paternal grandmother, Lucia. He collected coins and baseball cards, loved playing all kinds of sports, was an avid Red Sox fan, was a member of the DeMolay (Young Masons), and was an acolyte at the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church. He learned the value of hard work at a young age, running two different paper routes.

Steve moved to Pennsylvania with his family in 1954 as a high school junior and attended Marple Newtown High School. It wasn’t long before he made a name there. His school newspaper stated, “Due to his likable personality and leadership abilities, he was chosen by the members of the football squad as the captain of his team.” This is where his love for the game of football began.

While attending the University of Virginia, where he earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Education, he started dating who would become the love of his life Sandra Yeran Kurkian. They married in August 1961, beginning a life together that lasted 64 loving and incredible years.

Together Steve and Sandra have 7 children, 23 grandchildren, and 6 great-grandchildren.

Steve valued nothing as much as family, instilling in them a love of Armenian heritage, faith in God, hard work, and community participation. Steve was both a board member and a national delegate for his church. He led many projects, most recently chairing the fundraising committee for Founders Hall at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church of Philadelphia. He was honored and humbled to accept the Eagle of the Eastern Prelacy award.

Steve was a successful businessman, starting his career at the dawn of the computer age in the early 1960s and becoming President of one of the first data processing companies. His love of systems evolved into banking, and later he became the President of Fidelity Mutual Savings and Loan. He did this while owning and running several other businesses, including two liquor stores in New Jersey with his brother and father for more than 35 years.

Steve was a true believer in civic responsibility and served his local Merchantville, NJ, community, where he and Sandra lived for nearly 60 years. He was a Zoning Board member for more than 55 years, including Chairman; President of the School Board, an election poll worker, and on many committees that shaped the character of the community. Steve and Sandra were the first parents inducted into the Pennsauken High School Athletic Hall of Fame for their two decades of service to the football, field hockey and softball teams. While his children were in college, Steve could always be heard on the sidelines of many Swarthmore College football and Lehigh University softball games.

Steve’s greatest love was his family, which he always put first. Along with Sandra, their home became the epicenter for countless celebrations, holidays, and milestones. Anyone who stepped foot in their house was instantly embraced with warmth. In their retirement, lots of time was spent with family and friends in their homes in Celebration, FL, and Longport, NJ.

Steve was a true gentleman, a person of high principles and strong morals and values. His life was guided by his Christian faith and a simple motto of doing the right thing.

Steve is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Sandra; sons, Richard (Melissa), Jeffrey, Mark (Laura), Gregory (Debra), Arthur (Tania), Kurk (Rita), and daughter, Lucinda (Thomas) Stamboulian; grandchildren, Katrina (Ara Kailian) Selverian, Stephen (Kimberly), Sara, Jennifer (Ramsey) Walker, Michael (Amanda), David, Christopher, Max (Alison), Emily, Jessica, Matthew, Victoria, Alyssa, Jacob, Rebecca, Charles, Samuel, Mark, Valerie, Nicholas, Lucy, Stephen, and Anna; great-grandchildren Cameron, Raffi, Madeline, Sloane, Sona, and Michael; his brother Arden (Barbara), sister Alice (Richard) Shakarjian, his brother-in-law Walter Daniel Kurkian, and many nieces and nephews.

Family and friends are invited to view Wednesday October 29, 2025  from 9:30-11:30 am at St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church, 8701 Ridge Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19128.  His funeral service will begin promptly at 12 noon.  Interment to follow in Lakeview Memorial Gardens,1300 RT-130N, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the church.

For those of you traveling to the cemetery you are invited to drive on your own.  There will not be a funeral procession.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Stephen R. Selverian, please visit our floral store.