After almost five months of suffering, Ara Momjian passed peacefully yesterday surrounded by his wife Adriana and daughter Veronica.  Although this was expected, it is still very sad to lose a brother. 

Three years older, he was a source of inspiration growing up. He had high expectations of his younger brothers Raffi and me.  He was our guardian and chief motivator to do better in the US while attending university when parents were back in Beirut.  He was the first to come to the US pursuing a degree in chemical engineering (NYU), followed by an MBA in Operations Research.   He was also my guardian in boarding school when parents were not present.  He was generous to a fault, taking care of my parents when they left behind the civil war in Lebanon and relocated to the States.  He met his wife Adriana right after graduation when working at 7Up in New York City.

After 7Up, he had a successful career as a young engineer in the Gulf States and Africa bringing to fruition several major industrial development projects for Aramco and Morison Knudson. He had a facility with languages and great sense of humor which made him a good leader in multicultural societies in faraway lands. 

In addition to English, he was fluent in French, Arabic, Armenian, and to a lesser extent in Spanish and Turkish.  Although he did occasionally annoy me to no end, I will miss him enormously.

Ara lived with a passion that inspired everyone around him. His intensity in everything he did was a reflection of his love for life and his unwavering commitment. He loved his family deeply. He was a generous person and an exceptional host, who especially enjoyed sharing the flavors of his homeland.  
We hold on to a piece of his culture, which has now become part of us, the memories of his energy and unyielding spirit, and the comfort of knowing he lived life to the fullest, in his own unique way.  
We loved him dearly, and he will remain forever deeply in our hearts.

Ara, Armenian-American, and I, Cuban-American, did not know each other in the 1960s City of New York when we began dating our respective future wives, Argentine-American fraternal twin sisters.   He and I and our respective wives wanted traditional marriages where husband exercised his profession and wife worked at home raising beloved children. Our careers took us to different geographic locations, but the love between twin sisters would bring us together time and time again for holidays and vacations and, ultimately, retirement.  Ara was always most generous with us — a beautiful week-long family invitation to vacation in a Sardinian cottage comes to mind, but also countless delicious middle-eastern banquets meticulously prepared by Ara throughout five blessed decades of other get-togethers, ocasional golf games with our male offsprings and more.  I was also honored when one day during my retirement he called to offer me a position as COO & CFO of a high-tech startup he had identified and raised funds for.   Ara had cultured taste, was always elegantly and smartly dressed for any ocassion and forthcoming with advice and recommendations on just about any topic, but particulary culinary ones.   Ara loved his wife and children, specially his daughter, apple of his eyes.   Until we meet again, dear brother-in-law, to break bread anew around the banquet table of our Lord.   Abrazos (hugs), Efraín

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Ara Sarkis Momjian

8 juin 1944 – 17 décembre 2024

Babione Funeral Home

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