A pillar of the Armenian global community and a leader in the worlds of industry and philanthropy, the pre-eminent Armenian patron Nazar Nazarian passed away on August 28, 2023, having fully lived out his oft-stated personal credo —”to experience the joy and sense of reward that come through unreserved giving and dedicated service to one’s nation and the Armenian Church.”
Blessed with longevity, Nazarian had ample opportunity to fulfill his destiny as the successor of a long line of distinguished patrons of education, health care, nation-building and above all, the Armenian Church. It is a family legacy that he and his late wife Artemis, who passed in 2020, instilled in their family who survive them: their daughter Seta and son Levon and his wife Claudia, as well as their five grandchildren: William, Matthew, Nicholas, Daniela, and Gregory Nazarian. Nazar was also blessed to recently welcome and know his two great-grandchildren Henry and Madeline.
Services for Mr. Nazarian
Viewing ServiceFriday, September 1, 5 pm to 9 pmSt. Leon Armenian Church12-61 Saddle River Rd., Fair Lawn, NJ
Funeral ServiceSaturday, September 2, 10:30 amSt. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Cathedral630 Second Ave., New York, NY
Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations in his memory be directed to ABGU. Funds will be distributed to AGBU and the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America: www.abgu.org/memory-nazar-nazarian
Those wishing to leave a note for the family or to share a remembrance of Mr. Nazarian may do so at www.rememberingnazar.com
Nazar Levon Nazarian
Born in Aleppo, Syria to Levon and Satenig Nazarian, Nazar was raised in Lebanon surrounded by his loving siblings, Garbis, Noubar and Marie, where the family served as bastions of the local Armenian community.
He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a BS degree in Pharmacy. Nazar immigrated to the U.S. in the 1950’s to expand the family business where he met the love of his life, Artemis Topjian, a native of Watertown, MA. Having attained all the trappings of the American Dream, the couple committed themselves to sharing their good fortune by supporting a wide range of Armenian endeavors.
Their consistent generosity fostered the development of local Armenian communities—not only in the Greater New York area, where they lived, worked, and raised a family, but to various corners of the world, in North America, South America, Lebanon, and later, in independent Armenia and a struggling Artsakh.
