IN ThIS ISSue

Isabella Sarkissian: the Interminable nurse . . . . . . . . . . . 1

thanksgiving at Ararat Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

AeM grows its Collection and Hits a Milestone . . . . . . 3

trustees Answer the Question: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3What Does Ararat Home Mean to You?

Major Fundraising events Yield Major enjoyment . . . . . . . . .4

Construction Has Commenced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Ararat Home Cookbook in its 8th edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ARARATH Y E L I G H T S

Born in 1928, Isabella (Bella) Sarkissian wasthe only child of highly educated parentsMariam and Sarkis Sarkissian, a

physician and a chemist. Bella grew up in Rostov,Russia, until the age of ten, when her familymoved to tehran, Iran, where she would live forthe next 50 years. Reflecting on her life now atthe age of 88, Bella says that although she hasfaced many hardships, she has lived a good,productive life.

education has been an important focus forBella throughout her life. upon completing high

school, she pursued highereducation graduating fromRezah Shah university(currently Mazandaranuniversity) and thenobtaining a degree in nursingfrom Pahlavi university(curre ntly Shiraz university).thus began her career innursing, which Bella officiallyended about 30 years ago, butfrom which she has yet toretire!

Shortly aer receiving her nursing degree,Bella began working in the prestigious BankMelli Iran (national Bank of Iran) affiliatedhospital, which primarily served theapproximately 25,000 bank employees. Whenthe bank completed construction on its secondhospital, the Shah officiated over its openingceremony. Bella was one of the individualsselected to receive the Shah on his official visit,and she was charged with answering anyquestions he might ask regarding the hospital’soperations. on seeing her name tag “Isabella”,the Shah asked her if she was French. Bellaproudly replied that she was indeed a product ofIran. Pleased with her response, she was askedto stand behind the Shah as he signed theofficial opening papers.

Bella madea very goodimpression onthe Shahduring hisvisit, suchthat heencouragedher to travelto the unitedStates to

further hereducation. With the bank’s sponsorship, Bellaenrolled in the hospital management graduateprogram at the university of oklahoma. At theage of 56 and as the only foreign student in herprogram, Bella obtained her Master’s degree.She returned to tehran, and for ten years, sheheaded the financial administration of thebank’s two hospitals.

Bella advanced her education and career allwhile raising her children and supporting herfamily. In 1947, she married nikola Sarkissian andhad two sons, Sarkis and george. Aer sometime, however, she and her husband separated,

and Bella took on the responsibilities of a singleparent. She worked hard and made sacrifices toensure that her sons would be able to pursue theireducational goals. And so, aer graduating fromhigh school, Sarkis moved to Florence, Italy, tostudy architecture, and george moved to theunited States and studied project managementengineering in new York. today, Sarkis lives inMilan with his wife nina and daughters Arlena andArlea, and george lives with his wife Anita anddaughter Ani in new York. Bella is proud of hersons and praises her daughters-in-law for theirlove and dedication to their families.

Bella eventually remarried and lived happily withher husband Varoujan Kuyoumjian for 25 yearsuntil his death. they immigrated to Los Angeles in1988, where many of their friends and extendedfamily lived. Bella created a new social life forherself and, in no time, was again reaching out tothose whom she could help; something she hasbeen doing both professionally and personally herentire life.

Before moving to Ararat Home, Bella lived in anapartment building in Burbank, which had over 100other Armenian residents. Bella’s personable,compassionate, energetic, caring and helpfulnature impressed others, and she was selected tolead the resident council. She assisted withtranslations, organizedactivities and outings,planned game days andparties, and financiallyaided whoever appealedt o h e r f o r h e l p . She worked to create acommunity, and herneighbors called her “ourBella, our angel!”

now, Ararat Home callsher “our Bella”, becauseher optimism is so endearing. Whether it is theaention she pays another resident who is feeling

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Winter 2016A Publication of Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc.®

Isabella (Bella) Sarkissian The InterminableNurse

Bella inuniform

Bella at Ararat AssistedLiving Facility

Bella watches as Mohammad Reza Shahauthorizes the hospital's opening

Bella at Ararat AssistedLiving Facility

every year, in true Thanksgiving spirit, the Assisted Living Facility prepares and delivers a Thanksgiving meal(turkeys and trimmings) to the nearby fire station. In addition, the home lends tables and chairs to the firehousefor firefighters to enjoy holiday meals with their families in aendance. We have continued this tradition for over20 years, as it is anopportunity for us to expressour appreciation to ourlocal first responders forthe work they do throughoutthe year.

A R A R A T h O M e

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Assisted Living Facility Administratorand staff at Fire Station 75

hye Riders and Archbishop hovnan Derderian visit Ararat home Mission hills campus hye Riders visit with residents

Thanksgivingblessings

Arch. Derderian visitswith residents

Members of hye Riders and Arch. Derderian at the Nursing Facility

Thanksgiving lunch at the Assisted Living Facility

hye Riders share Thanksgiving lunchwith Assisted Living Facility residents

Assisted Living Facility resident Filip Asatourianbids farewell to members of the hye Riders

Assisted Living Facilitykitchen staff preparesturkeys for local fire station

As with every holiday, Ararat home staff put forth extra effort to make Thanksgiving Day truly notablefor our residents. And, thanks to some special visitors, it was a very memorable day this year!

Thanksgivingday at

e are elated that Ararat-eskijian Museumwill soon open a new exhibition featuring

its most recent acquisition of 105 copper and

nielloed silver items. these heirloom pieces datingfrom the 19th through 20th centuries belonged toSarkis and Varvara Keshishian, who gradually builttheir collection by searching for and purchasingArmenian handcras le behind from themassacres and deportations of Armenians in thevarious regions of eastern turkey. the collectionwas generously donated to the museum by theirdaughter nadia Barsamian in order to preserve andpromote the rich artistic heritage of Armenians.the collection will form part of the museum’spermanent exhibition and will be available forviewing in February.

the museum hit a milestone on november 20 as ithosted its 250th event since beginning its cultural-educational program in 1999. the event was afascinating lecture by turkish historian, Professortaner Akcam, who presented his latest publication,

The Memoirs of Naim Bey and Talat Pasha’sTelegrams. “Stay tuned” for more information onupcoming events in 2017, like the conference and

exhibition in February highlighting the communityand culture of Hadjin.

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ARARAT-ESKIJIAN MUSEUM GROWS ITSCOLLECTION AND HITS A MILESTONE

t R u S t e e S A n S W e R t H e Q u e S t I o n :

What Does Ararat Home Mean to You?

M u S e u M H o u R S : Sat. & Sun. 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.1st Tues. of month 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.or by appointmentopen to the public; free admissionararat-eskijian-museum.com • (747) 500-7585ararat-eskijian-museum@netzero.com

R O y M A R T I N I A N , D . D . S .our Ararat Home is the result of the endeavor of many visionary,dedicated and able individuals. their unwavering spirit and lovehas created a sanctuary for our elderly and put Ararat Home onthe map for operating top-ranked nursing and assisted livingfacilities. As the year comes to a close, I would like to give thanksto all our wonderful administrators, staff, volunteers andsupporters who very oen go far beyond their expected roles inserving our beloved residents. May god bless Ararat Home forgenerations to come!

R O N N A z e L e yFounded by visionaries, Ararat Home is a perfect example of an Armenianorganization that serves its community with care and devotion. the Home hasgrown over the years to accommodate the ever-increasing demand in ourcommunity for elder care. our facilities receive high ratings by state agenciesyear-aer-year; and, it is no wonder since the administrators are focused onquality care and employees are instilled with love and affection towardresidents. I am proud to be associated with an institution that admits elderswithout regard to political affiliation, religious preference or country of origin.Ararat Home is truly a place for all Armenian elderly. “Pari Yegak!” (“Welcome!”)

A portion of the Keshishian collection

Full crowd in Sheen Memorial Chapel for Prof. Akcam’s presentation

Museum Director MaggieMangassarian-Goschin withProfessor Taner Akcam

Prof. Akcam presents his latest workwhich authenticates varioustelegrams and documents from theearly 20th century that disproveTurkish denials of genocide

W Furthermore, we are proud to report anadditional success. Ararat-eskijian Museumvery recently completed the digitization ofProfessor Vahakn dadrian’s archives.Professor dadrian is a foremost scholar onthe Armenian genocide, and the museumwill soon make his collection of documentsavailable online as a great resource forresearchers around the world studyingissues related to the genocide.

the digitization project, which was startedin 2014 by edward Marghoosian, wascompleted by our new museum associateBardig Kouyoumdjian. Bardig is from Parisand has spentseveral monthshere working onvarious museumprojects. He is aCertified expert inAdobe Photoshopas well as anaward-winningphotographer whose works have beenpublished and exhibited internationally. Weare very grateful for his efforts in advancingthe mission of the museum.

Bardig Kouyoumdjian

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unwell, the friendly “hello” and chat she shares, the encouraging words she expresses, the positiveenergy she exudes, the enthusiasm with which she participates in activities, or the gratitude shecommunicates to staff, she is the interminable nurse whose nurturing and caring spirit still shinesbright. Bella says that she has felt loved wherever she has been involved and with whomever she hasinteracted, and she notes that good deeds are certainly not forgoen.

Her fellow resident Arax Hovanesian aests to that. upon being admied to Ararat AssistedLiving Facility, Arax was apprehensive about having a randomly assigned roommate. However, whenher new roommate arrived several days aerwards and the two were introduced to each other,Arax was exhilarated. Having worked for 30 years as a typist at Bank Melli Iran, Arax immediatelyremembered Bella as that hard-working, fast-moving, dedicated nurse at the Bank Melli hospital!the two women who had shared an experience decades ago in tehran crossed paths again at AraratHome; and now they have formed a deeper relationship as members of a larger, second family.

ARARAT HYELIGHTSCO-EDITORS

deBBIe AVedIAnAnI dIKRAnIAn

CONTRIBUTING WRITERCIndY KALooStIAn

PHOTOGRAPHY

AnI dIKRAnIAndeRIK gHooKASIAn

BARdIg KouYouMdJIAnStePHAn PZdIKYAn

VICKY tuMIKYAn

DESIGN/PRINTINGdoCtoRIAn PRoduCtIonS

ARARAT HOME OF LOS ANGELES, INC.15105 MISSIon HILLS RoAd

MISSIon HILLS, CA 91345

(818) 365-3000 info@ararathome.orgwww.ararathome.org

Published by(Ararat Home of Los Angeles, Inc.®)

© 2016 All copyrights reserved

CONSTRUCTION HAS COMMENCEDWe are delighted to report that construction of the three-story expansion of our Assisted LivingFacility began in october. the presence of heavy machinery and workers in hard hats is welcomed

by staff and residents alikewho curiously follow theprogression of the buildingproject. the new 44-roomwing, which is anticipated tobe completed in late 2017,will add 56 beds to thecurrent capacity of thefacility.

| By Cindy Kaloostian

We are pleased to announce that theeighth reprinting of the Ararat Home

cookbook, Reflections of an ArmenianKitchen, has been completed thanks to agrant from Susie Vahanian and WalterShubin. our cookbook was first published in1995, and has been very well-regarded sincethen. Cookbooks are on sale for $30 in theArarat Home gi Shop or can be ordered bywriting to info@arararathome.org or calling(818) 365-3000.

ARARAT HOME COOKBOOK

IN ITS 8TH EDITIONArarat Home’s Annual Picnic on the last Sunday of September was a great success. thanks tothe efforts of Ararat Home staff and volunteers and with special assistance from the members

of the triple X Fraternity Los Angeleschapter, the large crowd enjoyed everybit of the day with delicious food andpastries, entertainment, and fun for allages.

Casino night XIII on november 12was also a great success with nearly200 in aendance. It was gratifyingto see the newly renovated (almostcomplete) deukmejian grand

Ballroom full of supporters sharing a funevening together. Besides great prizes,the organizing commiee planned aspecial $1,000 door prize just in time forthe holidays. When the winner’s ticketwas called, he jumped for joy andpumped his fist…we think “13” is now hislucky number!

We sincerely thank ourgenerous sponsors andsupporters who help uscontinue the Home’s missionof care.

MAJOR FUNDRAISING EVENTS YIELD MAJOR ENJOYMENT

Ground cleared and leveled Foundationbeing set

Isabella (Bella) Sarkissian The InterminableNurse

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