A ‘Penny’ for My Thoughts

Of all the awards presented at this year’s Olympic Games, nothing hit home more than the AYF Spirit Award that honors the Varadian family.

Garry Giragosian accepting Varadian Spirit Award for the late Penny Atamian Giragosian

The fact it was presented posthumously to Penelope (Atamian) Giragosian made it all the more meaningful.

Those who remember the prominent Armenian missionary may have known her as simply “Penny.” She never had any illusions of grandeur, yet she was grand. Had she been alive to accept the tribute, she may have been bowled over with humility.

Accolades were not her makeup. Deeds—golden deeds—put the action where the trophies and plaques would have appeared. Her husband Gary, a true Green “Varantian,” was there to accept the award for his late wife.

It couldn’t have come at a better time with the home crowd there to applaud the selection and give Penny a hallowed place in the Olympic Parthenon. She was there in spirit cheering her favorite team to victory.

A day does not pass when I don’t think of Penny. Only because I have a very sentimental reminder by my bedroom dresser: It’s a tricolor neck piece she gifted me shortly before her passing.

We were on a bus ride to the softball games, and Penny was seated across from me. We struck up a conversation as people normally do on a bus when I noticed the neckpiece she was wearing. It truly caught my attention, matching her patriotic outlook on life.

Every once in awhile, someone performs an act of goodness that makes a deep impression. It could be the smallest gesture but one done with sincerity and purpose.

“I like your necklace,” I said. “The colors fit you well.”

We arrived at the field and were walking toward the games when she removed the piece and placed it around my neck.

“I can’t take this,” I said.

“It’s a gift,” she answered. “I saw how much you liked it. Wear it well.”

I continued to don that piece throughout the remainder of the Olympics with a source of pride, knowing it came from a woman whose love for Armenia was sincere and uncompromised.

It had been a tough year story-wise and I knew I had to get a special edition out for the Armenian Weekly. Back home, I was in somewhat of a funk and with the deadline approaching, I needed an energy transfusion.

I looked at Penny’s tricolor necklace hanging from a mirror and decided to wear it. For some unexplained reason, I was struck by a sudden jolt of inspiration. One story led to another and the writer’s block quickly disappeared. It was as if Penny were edging me on.

Ever since that day, the necklace has held a treasured place in my possession, and more than once I have stroked it for luck like a rabbit’s foot. For years that followed, I looked to it for guidance.

Her death in Providence left a huge void in the “Varantian” community, which had already been mourning the loss of another catalyst, Goldie Haroian. A month earlier, the loss of Sarkis Atamian also proved monumental. Though generations apart, they were cast from the same AYF mold.

In later years, Penny was instrumental in promoting the Armenian Cause in many ways, particularly with her life-long work in the Armenian Relief Society.

Her charitable deeds in creating a better environment for Armenia serves as a legacy, especially her contributions as architect of a group called “Children Reaching Peaks in Armenia,” a foundation aiding disabled youngsters.

She often went above and beyond the call of duty in her role, even during her tragic illness. Penny wasn’t one to let barriers obstruct her path of righteousness.

Nurses at a clinic in Armenia needed coats and she was determined to help. After rallying the community to her side, she was able to secure a dozen or so coats to combat the frigid winter months.

She had packed them into a box and got them aboard a plane bound for Hayastan. Penny wanted to deliver them personally and was prepared to make yet another trip to the land of her dreams.

While visiting the washroom at the airport, she laid her own coat down, only to have it stolen.

She carried out her mission that year. I’m sure the warmth she gained from her act of philanthropy was enough to comfort any nation in duress.

In an age of so many takers, Penny Giragosian was an exception. She was a giver. For that, she will be remembered.

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Tom Vartabedian

Tom Vartabedian is a retired journalist with the Haverhill Gazette, where he spent 40 years as an award-winning writer and photographer. He has volunteered his services for the past 46 years as a columnist and correspondent with the Armenian Weekly, where his pet project was the publication of a special issue of the AYF Olympics each September.