With a deep sense of loss we announce the passing of Dr. John Manuelian of Winchester, Massachusetts.
Dr. Manuelian was a faithful and dedicated supporter of the Armenian Church and community for more than half a century. He served as a delegate to the World General Assembly of the Holy See of Cilicia, and as a member, vice chairman, and secretary of the Prelacy’s Executive Council during the years from 1969 to 1976. He was a Prince of Cilicia, a Pillar of the Prelacy, and served on the board of trustees of St. Stephen’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown, Massachusetts, and as a delegate to the National Representative Assembly. He also served as physician to His Holiness Catholicos Khoren I and His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II during numerous pontifical visits to the United States.
Archbishop Oshagan will officiate at a National (Azkayin) Funeral that will take place at St. Stephen’s Church on Tuesday, October 8, at 11 am. The homecoming wake service will take place at 7 pm Monday evening, at the church. Interment will be at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A memorial luncheon (Hokejash) will follow.
He is survived by his wife, Lucille, of nearly fifty years (they would have celebrated their 50th anniversary later this month), and a large extended family. He was predeceased by his brother Harold and sisters Zabel and Lucille.
May our Lord embrace the soul of His faithful servant and tender the grace of His comfort on his family.
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John Sarkis Manuelian was born on February 1, 1927, in Boston to the late Sarkis and Margaret Manuelian. His family moved to Quincy when John was still a young boy. He received his undergraduate education at Boston College and his doctorates at the University of Vermont. Before entering medical school he taught biology at Boston College. He completed his residency at Boston City Hospital and entered practice as an internist specializing in Cardiology at the Carney Hospital in Dorchester. He was also a clinical professor of internal medicine at Boston University Medical School. He served as a captain in the United States Air Force and was Chief of Medicine at the Tactical Air Command’s England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana.
On October 27, 1963, he married Lucille (Kuludjian) of Chicago at St. Stephen’s Church. They remained inseparable, enjoying the fruits of their labor, while continuing their dedicated service to the Armenian church and nation.
A deeply devoted man of faith, at one time he considered studying for the priesthood. He later decided to be a healer of a different kind. However, he continued to serve his church and his fellow Armenians with great joy. He held virtually every office a layman could aspire to in the church on a local, national, and international level. He was also one of the founders of the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center in Watertown.
He will be remembered for his gentle ways, his dedication to his family and friends, his readiness to teach and learn from others, his ability to touch the hearts and minds of different generations, and his unwavering commitment to his church and the Armenian people.
Forty-three years ago in an article entitled “The Pastor’s Role in Our Community,” in the Prelacy’s GILIGIA Journal, Dr. Manuelian wrote: “It is when things go hardest, when life becomes most trying, that there is greatest need for having a fixed goal, for having a castle that the outside world cannot wreck. When few comforts come from without, it is all the more necessary to have a fount to draw from within. And the man or woman who has a star toward which to press, he or she cannot be thrown off the course, no matter how the world may try, no matter how far things may seem to be wrong. For us our fixed goal, our castle, our fount, our star is the Armenian Apostolic Church with its teachings, spirit, strength, and eventual salvation. We are privileged sons of that glorious people; we are humble servants of that church which is ours. Today the only real possession of the Armenian people is their church; may we guard her zealously.”
