Haig Deranian is truly a knight in shining armor.
Ten years ago, he was at death’s door before a liver transplant saved his life. A donor stepped forward when the situation became critical and gave him a new lease.
Today, he’s the national commander of the Knights of Vartan, an organization that predates itself back to 451 AD when Vartan Mamigonian led the surge that preserved Christianity for all Armenians.
Deranian doesn’t carry a sword. He has no shield. His only weapon is the Armenian spirit and he wears it proudly.
“It was not my time and I was blessed by God,” he says of the transplant. “God decided whether I would live or die. I have a great deal of faith which was part of my upbringing.”
Little is revealed about his life-or-death struggle back a decade ago, just the way Deranian would prefer. He’s not an individualist and wants no purple heart for his survival. He puts his organization before himself.
“I don’t know who the donor was,” he says. “There’s no question organ transplantation is a miracle in medicine.”
But talk Knights of Vartan and Deranian is all action. If he did have a sword, it would be Excalibur. And if this Knight ever came alive, well, it’s as close to a Robin Hood scenario as you can get.
His Sherwood Forest is the Armenian Diaspora. The mission is equality among all Armenians everywhere.
“Armenians need to unite with one voice,” he points out. “I believe the Knights of Vartan is the perfect organization that can cross all lines to get things done. My involvement and ultimate success are more of a team effort. I might be in the right place at the right time and was always trying to make a difference with my life.”
My late pastor, Rev. Vartan Kassabian, was a Knight as well as a Gomideh member, the leader of a church as well as an entertainer. He was the consummate Armenian who would rob Peter to pay Paul.
The former chairman of our Armenian National Committee of Merrimack Valley is another Knight. When Joe Dagdigian isn’t attending meetings, he’s involved with the Lowell Gomideh as well as the Cosmic Ray Division in Armenia. In fact, he joined the Knights to gain added clout for the CRD.
Deranian is also trying to make a difference. With a membership that has 23 lodges throughout the United States and Canada, along with a body of more than 3,000 Knights and Daughters, it’s Deranian who remains the catalyst.
The 67-year-old has been a Watertown resident for the past 55 years where he attended local schools before graduating from Northeastern University. He has a wife (Donna Pino) and three children (Gregory, Jason, and Jennifer) and is president/CEO of a company called Jad Imports, an importer of lighting products, and Deran Lamp & Shade Company, a manufacturer and distributor of portable lighting products.
He’s taught Sunday School at St. James Church in Watertown since 1997 and has a list of credentials the length of your arm with the Knights of Vartan. No need to repeat everything; suffice it to say, he’s made the Armenian community his priority.
Two years ago, Deranian chaired the New England Pontifical visit of His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians.
He’s helped deliver school supplies to destitute schoolchildren in Armenia, promoted hygiene and sanitation in Armenia, sponsored and renovated schools, and distributed scholarships. Two of my AYF children were K of V recipients.
According to one report, $19 million has gone to school projects in Armenia. For every dollar the brotherhood raises, the World Bank matches $9.
This July, the city of Boston will be converted into a metropolis for Knights from every corner of the country. More than 400 members are expected to converge at the Westin Copley from July 1-5.
Had he been alive, Der Vartan would have played a key role as commander of the Arakadz Lodge of Merrimack Valley. In the entire history of this organization, no cleric has ever assumed such a leading role and the reason why he joined runs parallel with others who’ve taken an initiative.
They wanted to make a difference.
“We believe that the preservation of our racial, religious, and cultural heritage is our sacred obligation,” Deranian points out. “However we achieve that is up to us.”
Haig Deranian is alive today because he had God on his side. He’ll never dispute that. Nor will he ever contradict the work of his organization, much less the interaction of Armenians everywhere, regardless of political or fraternal affiliation.
For that, he is to be admired.
Tom Vartabedian
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