In Memoriam: Thomas Nishan Toumajan (1938-2014)

August 25, 2015 Guest Contributor Obituaries 0

 

Thomas Nishan Toumajan (1938-2014)
Thomas Nishan Toumajan (1938-201Thomas Nishan Toumajan was born at Harvard University Hospital in Cambridge, Mass., on Sept. 26, 1938. He was the oldest of three sons of Armenian immigrants, Nishan Thomas Toumajan and Louise Adjemian Toumajan. He graduated from the highly regarded New Lincoln High School in New York City. Tom, or Tommy, as he was popularly called, pursued an education in broadcasting at Emerson College in Boston, graduating as the Outstanding Broadcaster of his 1960 graduating class. He returned to New York to work at WOR Radio and at the New York Herald Tribune. Tommy landed a marketing and public relations job with Jack Wodell Associates, a position which took him from New York to Los Angeles, where he encountered famous writers and actors, and finally to San Francisco, where he would eventually depart from the entertainment world and assume a less “taxing” position as a taxi driver. It was in the City by the Bay that he shared a home for decades with JoAnn Green and brought up a son, Jerry Green. After JoAnn’s premature passing, Tommy moved to Central Florida to live with his younger brother Bartev. He worked there as a courtesy driver for Jack Yeoman’s Ford dealership. After Bartev’s untimely death, Tommy joined his youngest brother Dickran and sister-in-law Anahit in Detroit, where he lived the last three years of his life before his passing on Oct. 21, 2014, only seven weeks after being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. His remains have been transferred to San Francisco, a city he loved with a passion, as well as to Eugene, Ore., where his son resides.

Tommy was an avid reader, particularly of newspapers and magazines. He was a loyal subscriber to the weekly magazines, the New Yorker and Sports Illustrated, and to the monthly New York magazine. He also enjoyed reading the the New York Times, particularly the Sunday edition. Tommy loved the challenge of crossword puzzles, which enabled him to build a formidable vocabulary. He was well versed in many fields and, thus, could carry on friendly and often lengthy conversations with people from different walks of life. He was a kind, gentle, and considerate human being who cherished his family and friends on the East and West Coasts.

Tommy is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Jerry and Kelly Green, grandchildren Brooklyn and McKenna Green, brother and sister-in-law, Dickran and Anahit Toumajan, nieces and nephews Annette Burrow, Stephen Toumajan, Suzanne Barker, Mihran, Armen and Ani Toumajan, cousins Sevan (Jutta) Minasian and Nadine (Elie) Sidawi, and many relatives and friends.

Memorial services, attended by many friends and family members, were held for Thomas Nishan Toumajan at St. John Armenian Church of San Francisco on Feb. 14, 2015, and at St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church of White Plains, N.Y., on Aug. 9, 2015. Friends of Thomas Nishan Toumajan are welcome to extend their condolences to family members by e-mailing aa0804@wayne.edu.

Guest Contributor

Guest Contributor

Guest contributions to the Armenian Weekly are informative articles or press releases written and submitted by members of the community.

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