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GERARD CAFESJIAN, PHILANTHROPIST AND COMO CAROUSEL NAMESAKE, DIES AT 88
Pioneer Press
Sept 17 2013
By Elizabeth Mohr
Gerard Leon Cafesjian, the benefactor who helped save the famed Como
Park carousel, has passed away, according to Armenian news reports.
Cafesjian amassed his wealth as an executive at West Publishing,
where he worked from 1952 until 1996. His philanthropic pursuits went
well beyond the salvage and restoration of the Cafesjian Carousel,
as it's now known. He also founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation,
the Cafesjian Museum Foundation and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
Cafesjian, 88, formerly of Roseville, had retired and was living in
Naples, Fla.
Messages for family members were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Cafesjian's attorney said he was not authorized to speak on behalf of
the family. And a woman who answered the phone at the Cafesjian Family
Foundation said no one there was taking media calls at that time.
Several Armenian news outlets were reporting Cafesjian's death
Tuesday. Some said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had issued a
message of condolence to Cafesjian's family.
Cafesjian was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Armenian parents who
immigrated to the United States in 1915, according to a biography on
the Cafesjian Center for the Arts website. He served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II and later earned a degree in economics from Hunter
College and a law degree from St. John's University Law School. He
began working for West Publishing in New York City and was later
transferred to the St. Paul office.
In 1988 Cafesjian led an effort to save a 1914 merry-go-round that had
spun at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for 75 years. He and others
contributed more than $2 million to save the 68-horse carousel from
being broken apart and auctioned off.
The Cafesjian Carousel, which was named in honor of its major
benefactor, was restored and initially installed in Town Square in
downtown St. Paul.
"I knew it was worth saving and had to be saved," Cafesjian told the
Pioneer Press in 1990, just days before the refurbished carousel
was set to make its public debut. "We can all be proud of the way
everybody got behind it."
When the carousel was unveiled, Cafesjian reportedly bought 100
tickets to give away to children who wanted to ride it and sat on a
park bench to observe the event.
"I can't think of getting more pleasure per dollar than what I've
gotten already," Cafesjian told reporters at the time.
The carousel was moved to storage in 1996 and found its permanent
home in Como Park in 2000.
Through his philanthropic organizations, Cafesjian sought to bring
economic relief and artistic venues to Armenia, and to promote Armenian
art and history to the rest of the world.
He was most recently mentioned in local news in August when one of his
former employees was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly
embezzling millions of dollars from Cafesjian and his companies.
Cafesjian's wife, Cleo, died in March. The couple met during WWII and
were married in July 1947. At the time of Cleo's death, they had two
adult children, one granddaughter and three great-grandchildren.
http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_24115379/gerard-cafesjian-philanthropist-and-como-carousel-namesake-dies
Pioneer Press
Sept 17 2013
By Elizabeth Mohr
Gerard Leon Cafesjian, the benefactor who helped save the famed Como
Park carousel, has passed away, according to Armenian news reports.
Cafesjian amassed his wealth as an executive at West Publishing,
where he worked from 1952 until 1996. His philanthropic pursuits went
well beyond the salvage and restoration of the Cafesjian Carousel,
as it's now known. He also founded the Cafesjian Family Foundation,
the Cafesjian Museum Foundation and the Cafesjian Center for the Arts.
Cafesjian, 88, formerly of Roseville, had retired and was living in
Naples, Fla.
Messages for family members were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Cafesjian's attorney said he was not authorized to speak on behalf of
the family. And a woman who answered the phone at the Cafesjian Family
Foundation said no one there was taking media calls at that time.
Several Armenian news outlets were reporting Cafesjian's death
Tuesday. Some said Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had issued a
message of condolence to Cafesjian's family.
Cafesjian was born in 1925 in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Armenian parents who
immigrated to the United States in 1915, according to a biography on
the Cafesjian Center for the Arts website. He served in the U.S. Navy
during World War II and later earned a degree in economics from Hunter
College and a law degree from St. John's University Law School. He
began working for West Publishing in New York City and was later
transferred to the St. Paul office.
In 1988 Cafesjian led an effort to save a 1914 merry-go-round that had
spun at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds for 75 years. He and others
contributed more than $2 million to save the 68-horse carousel from
being broken apart and auctioned off.
The Cafesjian Carousel, which was named in honor of its major
benefactor, was restored and initially installed in Town Square in
downtown St. Paul.
"I knew it was worth saving and had to be saved," Cafesjian told the
Pioneer Press in 1990, just days before the refurbished carousel
was set to make its public debut. "We can all be proud of the way
everybody got behind it."
When the carousel was unveiled, Cafesjian reportedly bought 100
tickets to give away to children who wanted to ride it and sat on a
park bench to observe the event.
"I can't think of getting more pleasure per dollar than what I've
gotten already," Cafesjian told reporters at the time.
The carousel was moved to storage in 1996 and found its permanent
home in Como Park in 2000.
Through his philanthropic organizations, Cafesjian sought to bring
economic relief and artistic venues to Armenia, and to promote Armenian
art and history to the rest of the world.
He was most recently mentioned in local news in August when one of his
former employees was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly
embezzling millions of dollars from Cafesjian and his companies.
Cafesjian's wife, Cleo, died in March. The couple met during WWII and
were married in July 1947. At the time of Cleo's death, they had two
adult children, one granddaughter and three great-grandchildren.
http://www.twincities.com/stpaul/ci_24115379/gerard-cafesjian-philanthropist-and-como-carousel-namesake-dies