In memory of Karolyn Kurkjian-Jones
Karolyn Kurkjian-Jones of Watertown, and formerly of Dorchester and Boston’s North End, passed away on July 20, 2025 at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in New London, Connecticut.
Born in Dorchester, she was the devoted daughter of Rosella and Anooshavan (“Flash”) Kurkjian, and the beloved mother of Meredith Kurkjian Lobur and her wife, Stephanie Page of Provincetown, and Peter E. A. Lobur and his wife, Janel Lobur, of Frederick, Maryland. She was the best grandmother (Gammy) to her adored Rhett and Reagan Lobur, and the cherished sister of Stephen Kurkjian of Manomet and Elizabeth (Liz) Kurkjian-Henry and her husband John W. Henry of Niantic, Connecticut. She was the wife of the late Ralph Jones, a consultant for the U.S. Department of Transportation, whom she met when he moved to Boston in the mid-1980s.
Karolyn was a graduate of Dorchester High School and Boston State Teachers College. She cherished her years at her dream-come-true contemporary condo and deck in the North End—Mayor Menino awarded her Best of Boston Deck design several years in a row. When she moved into her parents’ house in Watertown, she turned it into another showcase of design and beauty. Dearest to her heart were the Kurkjian family memories made at their Manomet cottage, Mer Doon, and ‘down the beach.’
In the 1960s, Karolyn achieved her lifelong dream and became a flight attendant for American Airlines. She had maintained her ties to the airlines decades later and was working as a volunteer at Logan International Airport on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, assisting early arrivals to their gates. Minutes after the tragedy became known, she was transferred to the Logan Hilton Hotel, where she brought consolation and comfort to family members who may have had loved ones on the American Airlines flight that had been hijacked from the airport.
Her other careers included a teacher in the Boston Public Schools and a Boston real estate agent. She loved her most recent job the most—as a concierge at the Boston Park Plaza—because it allowed her to become Boston’s most proud ambassador, directing visitors to the city’s best sights and sites, whether historic and hidden. She was still planning to return to ‘the desk’ after her recuperation.
Her passions in life included figure skating, which she perfected at ice rinks wherever she lived—whether in Dorchester, Needham, upstate New York, Tampa or the North End—and she maintained her membership in the Skating Club of Boston. Other passions included gardening, keeping her home—as if House Beautiful were coming to write a feature article at any moment—and rescuing older, often frail dogs and cats. She was Larry David’s biggest fan and a rapt daily listener to Boston Public Radio’s “Jim & Margery” Show.
She was an avid reader and political pundit. Her antipathy to the current occupant of the White House was so strong that she sent him a postcard every day—except Sundays—demanding that he release his taxes during his first term in office. Her anger towards his presidency became known well enough that The New York Times featured her letter-writing campaign in its Page 1 story in 2020 on Americans’ rejoicing over President Biden’s victory. Karolyn was ever-elegant, ever-informed, ever-loving and loved by all who knew her.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 6 at 11 a.m. at St. James Armenian Church on 465 Mount Auburn St., Watertown, Massachusetts. Prior to the service, from 10 to 11 a.m., there will be a family visitation.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to St. James Armenian Church or to a charity dedicated to the rescue of older dogs, the Danny Boy Adoption Fund, PO Box 4043, Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01202. Cemetery Services will be private. Arrangements are by Aram Bedrosian Funeral in Watertown.
