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HE BROUGHT HOPE TO PEOPLE WITH BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS DR. RICHARD ASARIAN
by Joe Fahy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
May 4, 2008 Sunday
REGION EDITION
Inspired by the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," Dr. Richard Asarian
planted corn and constructed a baseball diamond at his farm in
Washington County, holding occasional softball games there with
friends and family members.
The fanciful pursuit, they said, suggested his love for life and
baseball -- and his belief that everyone, including the troubled people
that he served as a clinical psychologist, should strive toward dreams
of a better life.
Dr. Asarian, 61, of Scenery Hill, died Tuesday at his home. The cause
was a heart attack, said his son, Aram.
In his professional career, Dr. Asarian focused much of his attention
on bringing hope to people with behavioral problems, including criminal
offenders. But his interests were wide-ranging.
They included religious studies, existential phenomenology and the
Chautauqua Institution in New York, which he visited regularly. He
was an amateur guitar player, blues singer and songwriter and was
an avid fan of Democratic politics and sports teams, especially the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
"He loved nature, the environment and creativity in general," his
son said.
Of Armenian descent, with a hearty laugh, Dr. Asarian was known for
his humor and zest for life.
"He was eccentric in a fun kind of way," said his older brother,
Dr. John Asarian, a pediatrician. He noted that his brother had a
fuschia-colored hot tub installed in his dining room and, on a trip
to Paris, wore a cowboy hat as he sat outside near the Seine River
and played his guitar.
He also formed a group of friends, known as the Brotherhood of the
Symbolic Stalk, to shake corn stalks at Pirates games.
But friends and colleagues also recalled the optimism and compassion
he brought to the people he served.
He was a co-founder of the Ielase Institute, an agency that provided
community-based mental health treatment to criminal offenders, said
his longtime friend, Earl Hill, program director for a local drug
and alcohol treatment program.
In his latest job, director of psychology at Torrance State Hospital,
Dr. Asarian helped patients with mental illness, including those
struggling with addictions, to focus on their ability to move toward
recovery, said Edna McCutcheon, the hospital's chief executive officer.
She recalled how he performed at a professional conference last year
with a patient who also played guitar.
"You could see the pure joy on Richard's face," she said, adding
that he was concerned with "maximizing the skills our individuals
could attain."
Dr. Asarian "could always make you laugh and was a wonderful
optimist. He could see the best in everything," said another friend
and local epidemiologist, Dr. Melissa Wieland.
Dr. Asarian was born in New York City to Sherman and Zabelle
Asarian. His father was a dentist and his mother a homemaker.
After his father joined the Army, the family lived in California,
Virginia and Kentucky before settling in the Fresno, Calif. area in
the late 1950s.
He received a bachelor's degree from Fresno State University and a
master's degree from Sonoma State University before earning a Ph.D. in
psychology from Duquesne University in 1981.
For about 20 years, beginning in the mid-1970s, he worked at the
Ielase Institute, serving as clinical director. He also worked at other
agencies around the area, including several correctional facilities,
and served on a state addictions task force.
He had been at Torrance State Hospital since 2006.
Besides his son, of Washington, D.C., and brother, of Chico, Calif.,
Dr. Asarian is survived by his former wife, Anne Asarian Cummins of
Washington, Pa., and three nephews.
Interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Hummell
and Barnhill Funeral Home. Memorial contributions can be made to the
American Diabetes Association.
Friends are invited to a memorial service at 7 p.m. Friday at the
Century Inn on Route 40 in Scenery Hill.
by Joe Fahy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
May 4, 2008 Sunday
REGION EDITION
Inspired by the 1989 movie "Field of Dreams," Dr. Richard Asarian
planted corn and constructed a baseball diamond at his farm in
Washington County, holding occasional softball games there with
friends and family members.
The fanciful pursuit, they said, suggested his love for life and
baseball -- and his belief that everyone, including the troubled people
that he served as a clinical psychologist, should strive toward dreams
of a better life.
Dr. Asarian, 61, of Scenery Hill, died Tuesday at his home. The cause
was a heart attack, said his son, Aram.
In his professional career, Dr. Asarian focused much of his attention
on bringing hope to people with behavioral problems, including criminal
offenders. But his interests were wide-ranging.
They included religious studies, existential phenomenology and the
Chautauqua Institution in New York, which he visited regularly. He
was an amateur guitar player, blues singer and songwriter and was
an avid fan of Democratic politics and sports teams, especially the
Pittsburgh Pirates.
"He loved nature, the environment and creativity in general," his
son said.
Of Armenian descent, with a hearty laugh, Dr. Asarian was known for
his humor and zest for life.
"He was eccentric in a fun kind of way," said his older brother,
Dr. John Asarian, a pediatrician. He noted that his brother had a
fuschia-colored hot tub installed in his dining room and, on a trip
to Paris, wore a cowboy hat as he sat outside near the Seine River
and played his guitar.
He also formed a group of friends, known as the Brotherhood of the
Symbolic Stalk, to shake corn stalks at Pirates games.
But friends and colleagues also recalled the optimism and compassion
he brought to the people he served.
He was a co-founder of the Ielase Institute, an agency that provided
community-based mental health treatment to criminal offenders, said
his longtime friend, Earl Hill, program director for a local drug
and alcohol treatment program.
In his latest job, director of psychology at Torrance State Hospital,
Dr. Asarian helped patients with mental illness, including those
struggling with addictions, to focus on their ability to move toward
recovery, said Edna McCutcheon, the hospital's chief executive officer.
She recalled how he performed at a professional conference last year
with a patient who also played guitar.
"You could see the pure joy on Richard's face," she said, adding
that he was concerned with "maximizing the skills our individuals
could attain."
Dr. Asarian "could always make you laugh and was a wonderful
optimist. He could see the best in everything," said another friend
and local epidemiologist, Dr. Melissa Wieland.
Dr. Asarian was born in New York City to Sherman and Zabelle
Asarian. His father was a dentist and his mother a homemaker.
After his father joined the Army, the family lived in California,
Virginia and Kentucky before settling in the Fresno, Calif. area in
the late 1950s.
He received a bachelor's degree from Fresno State University and a
master's degree from Sonoma State University before earning a Ph.D. in
psychology from Duquesne University in 1981.
For about 20 years, beginning in the mid-1970s, he worked at the
Ielase Institute, serving as clinical director. He also worked at other
agencies around the area, including several correctional facilities,
and served on a state addictions task force.
He had been at Torrance State Hospital since 2006.
Besides his son, of Washington, D.C., and brother, of Chico, Calif.,
Dr. Asarian is survived by his former wife, Anne Asarian Cummins of
Washington, Pa., and three nephews.
Interment will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Hummell
and Barnhill Funeral Home. Memorial contributions can be made to the
American Diabetes Association.
Friends are invited to a memorial service at 7 p.m. Friday at the
Century Inn on Route 40 in Scenery Hill.