The Armenian Studies Program web page is sponsored by a grant from
The Bertha and John Garabedian Charitable
Foundation, Fresno.
Mr. Raffik Bagdassarian
of San Francisco passed away in October 2008. His family requested that
remembrances be made to the Armenian
Studies Program at Fresno State to honor
his lifetime interest in Armenian culture and scholarship. Below is Mr.
Baghdassarian’s biography.
Raffik
Bagdassarian was
born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on March 5, 1927 to Arevik and Sarkis
Bagdassarian. He lost his mother around the age
of 7, soon after the birth of
his sister Bella. Shortly thereafter, he and his family left Russia and moved
to Kazvin, Iran, where he
grew up. He served in the Iranian military and later
worked as an engineer and surveyor throughout Iran. He married Elza Hacopian in
Kazvin
in 1952 and had 2 daughters, Arevik and Isabella.
In 1962 the family moved to
San Francisco in pursuit of opportunities in a non-Muslim
country. He was
employed by Pan American Airways in the flight training division of the company
and traveled extensively around the
world with his family. Raffik worked
tirelessly within the Armenian community in San Francisco to promote Armenian
culture and traditions
and was one of the supporting members of the Armenian
Cultural Association in San Francisco. He was an avid athlete and sportsman,
as
well as a historian and scholar of Armenian language, culture, literature, and
music. He had a masterful Armenian script and as an
artisan, hand crafted
detailed miniatures of traditional Armenian musical instruments.
He retired and moved to
Sacramento to be closer
to his grandchildren, Alexander and Natalie. After a
lengthy illness he passed away on October 9, 2008. He will be deeply missed by
his family,
friends and community.
