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We are no longer accepting
applications for the 2010 - 2011 academic year. The
deadline for submittal of applications for the 2011 - 2012
academic year is May 31, 2011.
The John M. Azarian Memorial Armenian Youth Scholarship Fund was formed
in 1976 following the untimely death of John M. Azarian,
Sr., beloved husband and father. Mr. Azarian was
the son of Armenian immigrants and worked hard his entire
life to serve the Armenian church and its community. He
worked unselfishly for St. Leon’s Armenian Church and was
instrumental in relocating the church from Paterson to Fair
Lawn, New Jersey. He was a founding father of the
church in its new location and served for many years as an
elected member of the
Parish Council, specifically acting as Treasurer, on Fund Raising
projects, and capital programs.
Mr. Azarian
started from humble beginnings, growing up in Paterson, New
Jersey. He put himself through college, attending
Seton Hall University in West Orange, New Jersey, and
graduated with a degree in Accounting. He passed the
CPA exam and became a practicing accountant, initially with
Peat, Marwick and Mitchell and he later started his own
practice with an office in downtown
Paterson, New Jersey, which he later moved to Hawthorne, New
Jersey. Besides being devoted to the Armenian church, Mr. Azarian
also worked hard to help others and
volunteered a considerable amount of his time to various
charities.
Since its
formation, the John M. Azarian Memorial Armenian Youth
Scholarship Fund has awarded over $500,000 in grants to
assist financially deserving Armenian students who might
otherwise not be able to complete their undergraduate
studies. It is our hope that someday those we have
helped
will be able to give something back to those who are less
fortunate.
Sadly,
Martin G. Azarian passed away suddenly on April 18, 2009.
Marty was a beloved husband to Geraldine, son to Barbara
Azarian McCullough, nephew to Ed Azarian and Joyce Avedisian
and brother to John, brother in law to Donna
and Uncle to Alyssa, Amanda, John III, and James.
Marty grew
up in Wyckoff, New Jersey and graduated from Ramapo High
School. He
graduated in 2000 from St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkhill, New York. He was an assistant property
manager for The Azarian Group, L.L.C. and was a
fireman with the Wyckoff Fire Department Company #1 for over
20 years.
Marty was a
big fan of the Yankees, and enjoyed playing all sports.
He also enjoyed visiting firehouses and interacting with
other firemen, American History and travelling.
Remembering Marty
by Barbara Azarian-McCullough, Ph.D.
My son
Marty passed away on April 18, 2009. As a family we have
been working on special ways of keeping Marty’s memory alive
and remembering Marty.
I
always tried to instill in my sons to have goals and to work
to attain those goals. Marty always had 3 goals in life
that he worked to achieve – to graduate college, get married
and become a fireman. And I am so proud of Marty for having
worked so hard and attaining his goals.
Marty was not physically able to pass the fireman’s test but
because he worked so hard and was so dedicated the firemen
of Company 1 in Wyckoff made him an Honorary Fireman. Marty
wasn’t allowed to go to fires, for liability reasons, but
they put Marty in charge of staying at the fire house and
directing firemen to fires. Marty took this job very
seriously and derived satisfaction from this important
role. Marty also helped with Fire Prevention Week at the
firehouse.
Marty graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College in 2000 with
a Bachelors of Arts degree. It was difficult, at times, for
Marty to complete his courses but he persevered and did
graduate. Dr. Margaret Fitzpatrick, President of
St. Thomas
Aquinas College (STAC
) and a wonderful personal friend personally spent time with
Marty helping him complete his courses. Marty was so happy
when he graduated!
Chronologically, last but certainly not least, was Marty
getting married. Marty was so in love with his wife Gigi
and even in his later days when his health was failing he
only wanted to be with Gigi. Gigi was a wonderful, loving
and supportive wife who endured some difficult times with
Marty near the end.
In Marty’s memory John and I have been working on some
special things. First is a new, outside patio behind Fire
Company 1 in Wyckoff, which will be dedicated to Marty. We
have been working closely with the Fire Department on
developing the plans for the area. We will be donating the
money to build this patio area and it will have a bronze
plaque, with Marty’s likeness and name. We anticipate this
will be completed by this Fall (see plan below). If you
would like to be invited to the ribbon cutting in Marty’s
memory please let me know.
The second project we are working on in Marty’s name is a
memorial scholarship at St. Thomas Aquinas College. We hope
to have this in place for the Fall Semester.
When Marty passed away the Firemen approached us and asked
if they could do a special “Firemen’s Service” in Marty’s
memory. We had no idea what that entailed but of course we
were honored and said yes. The special Firemen’s Service
began the evening of Marty’s viewing when at least 30
firemen, in dress uniform, came to the service. That was so
touching, but only the beginning. The next morning the
firemen arrived with no less than 7 fire trucks (thank God
there wasn’t a fire in Wyckoff!) filled with firemen in
dress uniforms and placed Marty on the first truck. We then
proceeded from the Funeral Home to St. Leon Armenian Church
in Fair Lawn, via back roads. As we passed people on the
road they didn’t know if we were a parade or going to a
fire! When the church service was over we had about 70
cars (in addition to the 7 fire trucks) which then proceeded
to the Cemetery in Wyckoff. On the way the fire trucks went
back to the fire house. We didn’t know what was planned or
what to expect. They stopped in front of the fire house
garage and slowly opened the garage doors. The garages
were, of course, empty since the trucks were in our
procession, and sitting there in the empty garage was
Marty’s Fireman’s uniform propped up. It was incredibly
touching! The firemen then came to the cemetery and many
ultimately came to the repass lunch. This special
“Firemen’s Service” truly was special!

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