Vartan Boloyan

Vartan Boloyan passed away peacefully at his home in Cranston, RI on March 5, 2020 at the age of 91.  Vartan was born on February 16, 1929 in Gardanne, France to the late Kazar and Haiganoush Boloyan originally of Kharpert, Armenia.  He was the oldest of 5 children - Elise Thurber, Michel Boloyan (pre-deceased), Louise Janigian, and Jacques Boloyan (pre-deceased).  He was a young teenage boy during World War II and experienced occupation by the Germans in the early 1940’s.   After growing to adulthood and not having many job options in his war-torn native land, Vartan decided to emigrate to the United States in the 1950’s.  After a failed first attempt in 1952, he returned to France only to try emigrating to the US again in 1954.  Vartan persevered and ultimately settled in Providence, RI where he found steady work at Bruce Aiders in Cranston, RI as a teamster until 1976.

Vartan made many Armenian friends in the Providence community, ultimately leading him to his future wife, Araxie Akiprikian. They were married on June 6, 1965 and settled in Providence, RI.  In May, 1967, their son Carl was born followed by daughters Lynn in July, 1968 and Liz in August, 1969.  In August 1970, they bought a home in Cranston where they have resided ever since.  In 1977, Vartan would embark on another journey where he was forced to start a new career as a welder at Electric Boat in Quonset, RI. He would later move to the role of a pipefitter at EB until his retirement in 1996.

Vartan was very proud of his Armenian heritage, but he also absolutely loved and cherished that he was a US citizen since 1956.  To him, the United States gave him everything he had wished for and dreamed of having so he was forever grateful to this great country for the life he had.

Vartan was also a devout and lifelong member of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Providence and Cranston, RI.  His love for his church was instilled in him by his mother, a devout Christian who grew up in orphanages operated by Armenian Evangelicals in both Syria and Greece after the Genocide.  This legacy started by his mother was passed through Vartan and to his own children and grandchildren.  His church even bestowed Vartan the honor of Father of the Year in 2001 for this lifelong contribution to the church and community.

Vartan leaves behind a very large family including his loving wife Araxie, his children, Carl Boloyan, Lynn Tatewosian, and Liz Hathaway, and their respective spouses Rachel Abrahamian Boloyan, William Tatewosian, and Joseph Hathaway; his 7 beautiful grandchildren, Lucine, David, and Anna Boloyan, Victoria and William Tatewosian, and Joshua and Arianna Hathaway; his siblings Elise Thurber and Louise Janigian; his nephews, Paul Thurber, Dr. Robert Janigian, Marc Janigian, and niece, Monique Houle and 11 great nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 14th at 11am at the Armenian Evangelical Church, Cranston, followed by burial at Swan Point Cemetery, Providence.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Armenian Evangelical Church, 180 Oaklawn Ave., Cranston 02920 in memory of Vartan.