Vahe Leon Kazandjian. Eulogy
Posted on January. 31. 2020
Born on October 1 st , 1936 in Alexandria, Egypt. His parents were Rose and Levon Kazandjian. His mother, Rose, was born in Queens, New York. His father Levon, was a genocide survivor. He was the youngest of three brothers. In birth order, Kegham, Arshag and Vahe. He attended Boghossian School in Alexandria, Egypt.
He was active in the Armenian youth club playing sports and was on the swim team. From a young age, he had an interest in working on cars. He attended Dombosco School for mechanics. With the help of his older brother, Kegham, they were able to open their own garage in 1955.
In 1957, his older brother, Arshag married Stella and Vahe was the godfather at their wedding and shortly after he was the godfather for their son Kevork.
In 1961 Vahe emigrated to the United States. He settled In New York and contributed in assisting the American National Committee to Aid Homeless Armenians (ANCHA) organization in their relief efforts of helping Armenian refugees from abroad . After withstanding the extreme temperatures of the East Coast he decided to move to the West Coast.
In 1963 after years of hard work, he was able to open his dream Mechanic shop located on the corner of Fountain and Santa Monica Blvd in Hollywood, CA. He established a successful automotive repair shop specializing in transmissions for thirty years until he retired.
In 1967 because of the Arab-Israeli war his mother, being an American citizen, fled from Egypt to be with her son in Los Angeles. He continued to be involved in the Armenian community by being one of founding members on the Board of Trustees for the Ferrahian Armenian High School. Shortly after, his older brother Arshag and his family also emigrated to Los Angeles.
In 1971 Vahe met the love of his life Seta Tchatalian. In 1973 Vahe and Seta wed at Holly Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church. For the next four years, God blessed them with three beautiful children. Lucy, Leon and Christopher.
Vahe was a loving father and cared tremendously for his family. Shortly after each of his children turned five years old, each child was unexpectedly diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. This news took a toll on Vahe ,Seta and the family. Vahe was determined to go above and beyond to find the best treatment for his children. He reached out to the community and found that keeping his children active, along with proper diet and medication was the best way to stay on top of the disease. Vahe would close his shop early to get home in time to take his children bike riding, jogging, bowling, swimming and horse back riding.
Vahe loved the outdoors and wanted to experience it with his family. Vahe and his family would regularly take road trips with their camper for weeks at a time.
He enjoyed camping, fishing, hiking and exploring our great outdoors. Vahe was a devoted father and husband.
In 1990, the rise of the Karabakh conflict prompted him to go to Armenia to fight for the cause to liberate the Armenians in Karabakh from Azerbaijani oppression. Consecutively, for ten years he fought in those battles going back and forth from his family to Artsakh (Karabakh). While in Artsakh, he met and fought alongside with Monte Melkonian and Garo Kahkedjian.
At the same time, his children were pursuing their educational paths. Lucy graduated with her degree in Behavioral Science, Leon graduated with his degree in education with credentials, and Christopher attained his radiology and X-ray tech licenses.
Vahe was thrilled to see Lucy and Leon get married and grant him with grandchildren. Leon married Monica and they were blessed with two daughters, Alexandria and Harper. Lucy married Douglas Forcheskie and was blessed with two sons, Joseph and Lucas. Vahe truly enjoyed playing backgammon with his son in-law Douglas and spending quality time with his four grandchildren and his dog, De Niro.
As the years went by and his body aged, Vahe always had a youthful mind and spirit.
Just recently, on January 6th, Vahe was hit with an unbelievable blow when his youngest son Christopher passed unexpectedly with aneurysm and diabetes complications. Shortly after, the good Lord took Vahe on January 24th to be with his son.
Dad, we love you and you will always be in our hearts.
Vahe Kazandjian:
A legacy of a goodwill ambassador for Armenia, a devoted soldier for democracy and freedom
Editor’s note: The Armenian Nation along with the Republics of Armenia and Artsakh (Karabakh) and Armenian Diaspora lost a great friend and supporter of Armenian Cause with the passing of Mr. Vahe Kazandjian. Vahe was a role model for many in the Armenian American community and beyond.
His legacy as a genuine friend, a goodwill ambassador for Armenia, a devoted soldier for democracy and freedom who lived in the shadow of humility will be venerated by today’s and coming generation. Just before passing, Vahe was struck with the premature passing of his youngest son Christopher. May their pathway to eternity in the company of our Lord be forever illuminated.
Vahe and Christopher are survived by Mrs. Seta Kazandjian (wife, mother), Leon Kazandjian (son, brother) and Lucy Kazandjian Forcheskie (daughter, sister)
Staff members of USA Armenian Life Magazine and Hye Kiank Armenian Weekly express their condolences to the Kazandjian family, relatives and friends,
Appo Jabarian