Violet Sinanian

Violet Sinanian made her debut into the world on Oct. 31, 1922. Violet was born Manooshag “Violet” Der Mesrobian in Massachusetts to Armenian immigrants who settled and found work in the mills of Lawrence.

Her father’s father was a priest in Armenia who was killed along with his wife and others seeking refuge in the church during the genocide. Luckily, Violet’s father had escaped Armenia, settled in the United States, then traveled to Alexandria, Egypt to marry Violet’s mother at the age of 15. Violet’s parents were among the thousands who emigrated via Ellis Island, among those, her future husband’s parents.

By high school, Violet’s family relocated to Brooklyn with her three sisters, Lily, Rose and Mary, where their parents ran a tailor shop. After completing her studies at Brooklyn’s Girls Commercial High School, the birthday girl found employment as an office worker, until one Valentine’s Day when, at a church dance, she met her future husband, a decorated WWII Army Air Force veteran who flew B29s and was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. By 1947 she and James (born Nazareth Sinanian) were married.

Violet and Jim had two daughters — Stephanie and Catherine — and once the girls were in school full time, Violet went back to work. She was the first person you would see, greeting students at the Electronic Computer Programming Institute in the basement of the Empire State Building. ECPI housed an IBM computer in an environmentally controlled room where students would punch holes in cards to create programs.

After that, Violet was the office manager of the Original Print Collectors Group, where artists would sell their work via mail order catalogs — before the internet. OPCG was very successful, transitioned onto the web, and still exists today.

Some 30 years ago, at the age of about 70, Violet and Jim left Brooklyn to purchase their first home on Staten Island. They never imagined they would pay off their mortgage, but they did!

They enjoyed a long and happy marriage, celebrated their 70th anniversary plus a few, and were together until his passing in 2020.

Violet loved to brew a good cup of tea or coffee, enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich every day, and believed that people should just be nice to each other. She credited her longevity to loving her family, friends and neighbors, and always finding a way to laugh as much as possible.

Violet will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and neighbors. Earthside, she leaves behind Stephanie and Manuel Rollizo (her daughter and son-in-law), Catherine and Robert Blue (daughter and son-in law), Amanda, Michael, and Mason Ronan (granddaughter, grandson-in-law and great-grandson), and Nicholas Rollizo (grandson). We know she is taking her husband Jim’s hand to dance again on Valentine’s Day.

A committal service will be held at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, located at 830 Highland Rd, Newtown, PA, 18940, United States. The service is scheduled for February 17, 2025, from 9:30 am to 9:45 am.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Violet Sinanian’s name can be given to Best Friends Animal Society to honor her life and the love she had for her beloved pets over the years: https://support.bestfriends.org/site/SPageServer/?pagename=memorial_gift

Violet was featured in the Staten Island Advance when she turned 100 years old on Halloween, 2022. Thank you to Carol Ann Benanti for sharing her story: https://www.silive.com/entertainment/2022/11/annadale-resident-born-on-halloween-rounds-the-century-mark-with-joy-laughter-and-trick-or-treaters-too-meet-100-year-old-violet.html