Every Armenian community has its unsung heroes.
They are the people who work behind the scenes without monetary compensation and get the job done without fanfare. Without them, our society would be adrift.
Such an individual is Garbis Zerdelian. Those close to the 78-year-old might know him affectionately as “Garbo.”
The guy remains ubiquitous. I’m not trying to exercise scholarship here—it’s being everywhere at once. While we’re at it, try omnipotent as well. Garbo does many things efficiently and well.
One minute you’ll find him inside the Hairenik Building proofreading an organ, then off to St. Stephen’s Church to do the same for their monthly publication “Jrak.”
In between, there’s the weekly programming to contend with at Armenian Independent Broadcasting of Boston, where he’s presided over the Board of Directors the past 25 years. Here, he worked with the late Executive Director/Moderator Jerair Gharibian. When Jerair succumbed, on came his widow Yevgine to meet the challenge.
And she’s quick to admit that Garbo has always given of himself with a good cheer, utmost zeal, and complete dedication.
“He’s a loyal and wonderful friend of just about everyone in the community,” she confirms. “Garbis is an extremely kind person and his generosity of heart is boundless.”
His history with the Hairenik is long and illustrious, one of a vanishing breed of catalysts who brought credibility to that publication. No bombast here, much less salary. He found himself working with such editors as Rouben Darbinian, Kourken Mekhitarian, and Minas Tololyan.
To say he was one of the more faithful employees is an understatement. When the typesetters went on strike, it was Garbis who single-handedly did the job and had the paper printed daily.
This was well before the electronic age when typesetting was done on a composing table one letter at a time.
When Zareh Catholicos of blessed memory passed away suddenly, the news arrived at the Hairenik on a weekend when everything for the Monday edition was already set.
The editor decided to dedicate the Monday edition to Zareh Vehapar. It was Garbis who worked all alone way past midnight to recompose the entire edition, and had it ready for Monday morning.
Such journalists are as rare as nickel parking meters. In fact, they don’t fit the mold. They break it.
With the advent of computers, Garbo moved on and opened his own typesetting company. With his wife Sona (Tourian) and son Berj, he did pro bono work for the entire publishing requirements of the church, St. Stephen’s Elementary School, and just about every Armenian organization regardless of political or religious affiliation.
One day, I ran into him three times at three different locations performing three different chores within a mile’s radius. It was as if someone had cloned the guy.
I popped into the Hairenik and there he was, hunched over a newspaper, sifting through the type with an eagle’s eye. “Good morning,” I said.
Without lifting his eyes from the paper, he returned the gesture. I don’t even think he knew who was calling.
An hour later, I was at St. Stephen’s Church and there he was again, handing out memorial pamphlets for a deceased member.
“We meet again,” I smiled, and got the same gesture back.
And the third time? He was at the hokejash at St. Stephen’s Church. You couldn’t escape the man if you wanted to.
His history dates back to 1933 to Cairo, Egypt, where he was raised. He grew up in a family of 10 siblings, 6 of them sisters. He attended school there and at a very tender age, started working for the Sahag-Mesrob Printing Company where his lifelong occupation with typesetting began.
He later worked for Housaper Daily, one of the most respected Armenian daily newspapers in the diaspora, for nine years with some very prominent editors like Vahan Navasartian, Benjamin Tashjian, Kourken Mekhitarian, and Gabriel Lazian.
Three years after his marriage in 1958, he immigrated to the Boston area, thanks to an invitation rendered by the Hairenik Daily, which also sponsored the family. Along with son Berj came two more children, Maro and Seta.
For 10 years, he served as a trustee for St. Stephen’s Church, chairing the board for one term. He has been an NRA delegate for four years and a director six years of St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School.
Putting it all into perspective, Garbo is a man of singular devotion to his church and his nation.
Tom Vartabedian
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