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Zaven DerHagopian, 82; aided native Armenia

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  • Zaven DerHagopian, 82; aided native Armenia

    Boston.com |
    May 27, 2005

    Zaven DerHagopian, 82; aided native Armenia
    By Gloria Negri, Globe Staff Zaven DerHagopian was 16 when he left his
    Armenian community in Turkey in 1938 to come to America with his family. But
    his love of the Armenian people would stay with him for the rest of his
    life.
    Once he had found success here through hard work and perseverance, Mr.
    DerHagopian made 28 trips to Armenia over 23 years. He provided financial
    and material aid to people who needed it -- he gave tractors to farmers and
    supplies to schools, for example.
    Mr. DerHagopian, a retired food chemist and philanthropist, died of cancer
    Saturday at his home in Cumberland Foreside, Maine. He was 82.
    ''Zaven was a very proud Armenian and an extremely charitable man who was
    very intelligent and charming," said William Kayatta of South Portland,
    Maine, a longtime friend.
    Mr. DerHagopian became so popular during his trips to Armenia that in the
    last 30 years he was asked to be the godfather to more than 20 people. That
    tribute is considered ''one of the most honorable and respected
    responsibilities in the Armenian culture," according to Mr. DerHagopian's
    son Zareh of Falmouth, Maine.
    On first arriving in America, Mr. DerHagopian's parents, Aram and Flora, and
    his two siblings settled in Medford. Unable to speak English at first, but
    fluent in French and Armenian, Mr. DerHagopian had his school lessons
    translated into French, and then he translated them into Armenian.
    He worked odd jobs and at his parents' variety store, his son said, while
    going through Medford High School and, later, during his college years.
    After graduating from high school, Mr. DerHagopian enlisted in the Army and
    served as a medical technician in England. He enrolled under the GI Bill at
    Northeastern University, earning a degree in chemistry in 1953, his son
    said.
    Later, he did advanced studies in food chemistry and worked in that field
    for companies in the Boston area. He married Dorothy Bedrosian 51 years ago.
    In 1968, Mr. DerHagopian began working at the former Jordan's Meats in South
    Portland. He was a food chemist and the company's vice president for many
    years.
    ''Zaven created a couple of fine products for them, like the chicken hot
    dog," Kayatta said. ''He convinced the company that using chicken would not
    only save money but be better for nutrition."
    Mr. DerHagopian began making regular trips to Armenia in 1975, and his love
    for his heritage and the Armenian people made him many friends almost
    immediately, his son said. Even on that first visit, he was asked to be a
    godfather for the bridegroom in a family he had just met, his son said. Once
    he retired in 1982, he made more frequent visits to Armenia, forging bonds
    with his godchildren and with the Daniel Vartan School in Yerevan, the
    capital.
    His son recalled packing containers of supplies in Maine that would be sent
    to the school, where students once put on an assembly in Mr. DerHagopian's
    honor. He was last there a year ago for the graduation of a class close to
    his heart. He dedicated each trip, his son said, to various causes -- from
    helping someone launch a business to helping a struggling singer record his
    folk music. Mr. DerHagopian then sold the CDs for him in the States. ''Dad
    liked to help people help themselves," his son said.
    Mr. DerHagopian preferred not to work with relief agencies, his son said.
    ''It gave him much greater pleasure to help on his own," he said. When a
    major earthquake once struck Armenia, Mr. DerHagopian initiated fund-raising
    efforts here. Occasionally, he would bring Armenians to visit in the States
    and would travel with American friends to Armenia.
    Gus Barber of Portland, Maine, once accompanied him. ''It was a very
    emotional trip for Zaven," he said. ''He was just obsessed with helping
    people."
    So beloved did Mr. DerHagopian become in Armenia, his son said, that parents
    would delay baptizing a child to wait for his arrival.
    Although Mr. DerHagopian moved from Massachusetts almost 40 years ago,
    Kayatta said, he often came to Watertown to play pinochle with a group of
    friends until a year ago. In Maine, he lunched several times a week with
    Barber and Kayatta. Even when Mr. DerHagopian might feel he was losing a
    debate, Kayatta said, he would tell them, '' 'I'm not wrong. You're right.'
    He always said it with a twinkle in his eye and a little smile on his face."
    In addition to his wife and son, Mr. DerHagopian leaves a daughter, Lucine
    of North Reading; a sister, Shake Goshdigian of West Hartford, Conn.; a
    brother, Nubar of Boston; and three grandchildren.
    Services have been held. Burial was in Forest City Cemetery in South
    Portland
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