Goshgarian Honored at Armenian Nursing Center

JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass.—On Mon., Feb. 21, friends and family gathered at the Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (ANRC) to recognize Crosby Goshgarian of Belmont for 30 years of dedicated volunteer work.

Crosby was born in Harpout, Turkey in 1920, the son of the late Mihran and Hripsime Goshgarian. He immigrated to the U.S. at the tender age of three and grew up in Somerville, Mass. He worked in his father’s business, which manufactured ice cream cones, and after graduation from Somerville High School, attended evening courses at Boston University’s School of Business Administration. He also attended the New England aircraft school, where he took courses in aerodynamics and engine and aircraft mechanics. Crosby continued to work in his father’s business, expanding it significantly by starting new divisions of the company and building an ice cream manufacturing plant.

Crosby is also a well traveled man, because he also owned and operated ocean-going freighters through his own shipping agency, with offices in NY and Boston. He traveled to various countries and sea ports to supervise the maintenance and repairs of his vessels. Crosby also served his country as a Corporal in the US Air Force for almost 3 years, where he served as electrical technician with flying status.

Crosby’s accomplishments extended beyond the professional arena into the communities he inhabited. He was a very active member of numerous Masonic bodies and a charter member of the Melrose Kiwanis association. In addition, Crosby served his church wholeheartedly. He was a member of the St. James Armenian Apostolic Church Parish Council of Watertown for 10 years, 6 of those as chairman. He was subsequently elected as Diocesan delegate, and served for almost 40 years. When the church needed a cultural and youth center, he resigned from his position as chairman of the Parish Council and chaired the building committee, which was responsible for the construction and completion of the St. James Church and Cultural Youth Center in 1967.

In 1981, His Holiness Vasken I awarded Crosby with the prestigious St. Gregory the Illuminator Medal, the highest medal given to a lay person in the Armenian Church.

But Crosby’s greatest accomplishment has been his family. He met his wife, the late Maline Tutunjian, in the St. James Church Choir. Together, they raised three children, Carol, Adrina, and Crosby, Jr. He is also blessed with seven grandchildren and one great granddaughter. All three of Crosby’s children are married to Armenians, which makes Crosby very proud.

But there was another passion in Crosby’s life—the passion of serving and helping others, which he so amply did, having watched his parents, particularly his dad, doing volunteer work at the Nursing Center and elsewhere. Eventually, Crosby’s parents became residents of the ANRC and Crosby went to see them faithfully. Before becoming a resident, Crosby’s dad used to sing at the Nursing Center to entertain the residents.

When Crosby was about 15 years old, his uncle gave him an oud, which had been hand-carried all the way from Beirut, Lebanon. Young Crosby, who had some musical training on violin, very patiently taught himself how to play the oud. Around 1980, he formed an all-volunteer group to provide more enriching entertainment for the Nursing Center residents; for the next 30 years, Crosby and his crew of friends visited the center very regularly, and shared their talents and music to spread joy all around them.
Crosby’s love and respect of the Nursing Center is evident in his enduring commitment and dedication over the past 30 years. His unselfish goal has been to spread his gift of music to give others a shining moment in their day.

The Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is grateful to Crosby for numerous years of dependable and unwavering commitment to the Nursing Center and has made a donation in Crosby’s honor to the Armenian Tree project as a living tribute.