DR. Steve Karian

Dr. Steve H. Karian, son of the late Dr. Edward Karian and the late Lucy Haleblian Karian, was raised and educated in the greater Boston area. In 1974, he graduated from the University of Montpellier Faculty of Medicine, Montpellier, France and was accepted to the Boston University Medical Center and Boston City Hospital residency programs in surgery and urology. For the past 32 years he was in the private practice of urology and was on the staff of Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA, Melrose-Wakefield Hospital and the former Waltham Hospital. He was past president of the Medical Staff at Deaconess Waltham Hospital and past president of the Armenian American Medical Association.

Good education, hard work, religious commitment, and family life were highly valued in his Armenian-American family. When he was 11, his parents decided to take the family on a trip to see the world, visiting Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Paris, and London. As a young man, he developed a love of France and became fluent in the French language. While training as a urology resident he met his future wife, Dr. Melody Craft, a medical oncologist and hematologist, and they were married in 1980. His skill, dedication and compassion for his patients were some of the qualities which attracted her to him. Since 1986 they have made their home in Sudbury, MA. He was an active member of the Sudbury United Methodist Church, serving in many capacities, including Staff Parish Relations Committee, a Building Committee, chair of a capital campaign, and recently the Youth Empowerment and Support (YES) focus group.

Dr. Karian was a lover of the arts, including classical music, ballet, and the visual arts, especially 20th century Maine artists, the New York School of Abstract Expressionism and German Expressionism. He followed what was going on in the art world, especially in New York City and Paris, where he would visit many of the art fairs and galleries. He was also an avid photographer.

Dr. Karian was a devoted father to Laurel Karian, a fourth year student at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, and Peter Karian, who will soon begin his studies at the University of Maryland College of Dentistry, and to the late Lily Diana Karian, who was a premed student until her untimely death in 2006.

Dr. Karian embraced life with a joie de vivre apparent to all who knew him. He was filled with energy and enthusiasm for life, and will be remembered as a devoted friend, compassionate physician, and loving husband, father, brother. With a big smile and a sense of humor he lived in the present, without thinking much about the past or worrying about the future. He bravely faced his illness, pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed in June 2010. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family and close friends.

Visitation with the family will take place Sunday, May 15, from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the Duckett-J.S. Waterman & Sons Home of Memorial Tribute, 656 Boston Post Rd., Rt. 20, Sudbury. The Memorial Service will take place TUESDAY, MAY 17, at 11:00 am at the Sudbury United Methodist Church, 251 Old Sudbury Rd., Rt. 27, Sudbury Center. Interment will be private. Donations in memory of Dr. Karian should be directed to Sudbury United Methodist Church, 251 Old Sudbury Rd., Sudbury, MA 01776 or to Partners in Health,

888 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215.