Obituary: Alice Aghavni (Hamparian) Kasbarian

Alice Aghavni (Hamparian) Kasbarian – Dec. 20, 1927 – Jan. 17, 2018

Alice Aghavni (Hamparian) Kasbarian

Alice Aghavni (Hamparian) Kasbarian, 90, of Teaneck, N.J., died Jan. 17, surrounded by family. Born in New York City in 1927 to Armenian Genocide survivors from Sepastia, Western Armenia, Alice was a longtime figure in the Teaneck public school system. For more than 30 years, she served as a remedial teacher of English and math and as a member of the Teaneck High School administration.

Alice also served as a Kindergarten teacher at the Nareg Armenian School of New Jersey in the 1970s, and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Apostolic Church of Ridgefield, NJ, in the 1990s.

Alice was a standard bearer of the Western Armenian cultural tradition, imparting the endangered language and folkways of her ancestors to subsequent generations living in exile. Her insistence on speaking Armenian in the home played a dominant role in facilitating her aims.

A trained lyric soprano, Alice gave up a promising operatic career to raise an Armenian family. She belonged to the Nayiri Western Armenian Folk Song and Dance Ensemble of NY; the Armenian National Chorus of N.Y.; and the Hamazkayin Chorus of N.J. She was a soloist in the choirs of St. Illuminator’s Armenian Cathedral of NY and Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church of N.J. Prominent Armenian musicians Onnik Dinkjian and Armen Babamian both acclaimed Alice’s soprano voice as the finest they had encountered.

Alice will be remembered as a gentle, multitalented woman blessed with quiet strength and kindness, always extending a helping hand to others. Alice embodied age-old Armenian virtues of modesty, honorability, industriousness, selflessness, and love of homeland.

Alice is survived by her husband, Charles Garabed Kasbarian; her son, John Antranig Kasbarian, and his wife Maro Matosian; and her daughter, Lucine Kasbarian, and her husband David Boyajian. Alice is also survived by her late brother Nishan Hamparian’s children, Aram, Anahid and Vartan Hamparian; her late brother Ardashes Hamparian’s children, Lorig, Aram, and Raffi Hamparian; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

Funeral arrangements were private. A memorial program is planned on March 4 at St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral & Pashalian Hall 221 E. 27th Street, Between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, New York, N.Y. 10016). Hokehankisd at approx. 12 noon. Memorial service immediately following in the Cathedral. Lenten Hokejash and Program in Pashalian Hall (Discounted garage parking across the street – with credit card – Kips Bay 27 Parking LLC 240 East 27th Street – Validate your tickets at the Cathedral office).

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to: St. Illuminator’s Armenian Cathedral of NY;
Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church of NJ; or the Tufenkian Foundation.

For information, contact the Cathedral office at: office@stilluminators.org; (212) 689-5880 or Lucine Kasbarian at: lucinekasbarian@aol.com; (201) 836-4788

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The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Central Committee of the Eastern United States extends its deepest condolences to Central Committee member unger Antranig Kasbarian and the extended Kasbarian and Hamparian families on the passing of Alice Aghavni  Kasbarian.

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The Hairenik and the Armenian Weekly newspapers extend their deepest condolences to longtime Armenian Weekly columnist and contributor Charles G. Kasbarian (Uncle Garabed); ARF Central Committee of Eastern U.S. member, former editor, and longtime contributor to the Armenian Weekly Antranig Kasbarian; Armenian Weekly contributor Lucine Kasbarian; and the extended Kasbarian and Hamparian families on the passing of Alice Aghavni  Kasbarian.

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5 Comments

  1. I have known the multi-talented Lucine for a few years–she is my soul-sister, as it were–and I know about her remarkable father, another significant Armenian. Until I read this piece, I did not know much about Alice but I always suspected she must have been a signal beacon in the life of her family and the Armenian community in New Jersey, so although this is a moment of grief, it is also a time to celebrate and honour Alice’s life.

    Peace to her spirit and to her remarkable family.

  2. Deepest Sympathies for the whole family. Mrs Kasbarian was a most accomplished lady who will be remembered fondly by so many lives she touched. David Arathoon, Toronto

  3. Respect and honor to this two families, Kasbarian and Hamparian, they carried the torch of the Armenian heritage until today from the old country to the USA.
    We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families for passing of this talented personality Mrs. Alice Aghavni «Hamparian» Kasbarian. I am asking our Lord Jesus Christ to bless her sweet soul.

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