What should we do as a community when the unfathomable happens?

Indeed life is fragile. On Father’s Day, a proud community celebrated with its traditional picnic on church grounds. That evening it lost two dear members to an unspeakable tragedy. Our reaction can only be described as speechless, as an entire community was frozen in shock. Certainly, we have heard of such senseless acts, but it was always a news item far removed from our peaceful existence. We naturally become somewhat ambivalent toward such stories, perhaps evoking momentary human compassion that fades in the absence of personal knowledge. Those in the Armenian parish community of St. Gregory in Indian Orchard and the town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts knew the victims of this devastating tragedy. They were our friends, our relatives, our colleagues and fellow parishioners. They were our family. Sima Setian Pariseau and her son Dylan were not simply names associated with another horrific tragedy. They were people in our lives. They were loved and respected in our community by countless whose lives now contain a huge void. 

The Setian family is a fourth generation founding family of the St. Gregory parish. Sima’s grandfather Nishan was an original member who worked with my grandfather to build the sanctuary in 1934. Her father Harry has been an iconic contributor to the church for his entire life and a personal mentor who I deeply respect. Her mom Liz has been a mainstay of the choir and church events since her marriage to Harry. I taught all three Setian children in Sunday School: Steve, Deacon Bedros and Sima. Sima was named after her morkouyr (mother’s sister), who was her grandmother’s sister and also my aunt from marriage. This bound the Setian and Piligian families together for eternity. Sima as a high school student was the teenage version of what she became as an adult. She was your best friend who loved life and was devoted to things she believed in. Sima was always an important part of the Armenian community, as she was a participant in Sunday School, Camp Haiastan and eventually became a leader in parish life. People who knew her always described her in a similar manner at all phases of her life…loyal, devoted, kind and caring.