Obituary of Armen Alexanian

<h1>Armen Alexanian</h1> Peacefully at his home, surrounded by his children. Armen is predeceased by his loving wife of 49 years, Jane; his parents Aris and Mary and his brother Aram. He will be dearly missed by his brother Albert (Nancy), his six children; Brian, Janice, Susan (Allistair McKinnell), Arisa (Steve Nicholson), Greg (Sarah Bromley), and Linda (Derek Galbraith), and his eight grandchildren; Tessa, Liam, Arianna, Luke, James, Ethan, Lily and Michael. He will also be missed by his sisters-in-law Lida Alexanian, Barb Tytler, Betty Watson (Dan), brother-in-law Walter Anders, his many nieces and nephews, as well as Marg Greschner, who has faithfully and lovingly served the family for 46 years. Born and raised in the Armenian community in Hamilton, Ontario, Armen received a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, then joined his father in the family carpet business. His devotion and dedication to the industry he served was only surpassed by the love he had for his family. While travelling the world searching for the best carpets, he became distraught at the conditions under which many of the carpet makers in poorer countries were working. In 1988, Armen insisted that all suppliers to Alexanian's employ fair labour standards, and refused to import from any manufacturers using child labour. If building a family business and raising six children were not enough - Armen dedicated what little time he had left to public service. For nearly fifty years he was an active member of Kiwanis, serving as President, Chair and Advisor of various organizations and was the recipient of several awards and distinctions, including the George F. Hixson Fellowship and the Godfrey Dyer Medallion. Armen was a gamesman at heart, which was evidenced by his passion for card games such as poker and bridge, and his undying love of sports, having coached little league baseball and watched games of every sort. Just two weeks ago, for his 79th birthday, 60 friends and family members joined Armen at the Roger’s Centre in Toronto for a game between the Blue Jays and his favourite childhood team, the San Francisco Giants. His true calling however, came on the golf course where he would play 18 holes on a Sunday morning, then return home to fry up pounds of bacon for his family before they were even awake. He and Jane were well known for their hospitality and their home was known as "Hotel Alexanian" to many family and friends throughout the world. Armen's family and friends will miss him for many reasons, but none more than his adaptation of common phrases which we lovingly refer to as, "Armenisms". Phrases like "Don't throw stones at glass houses, because you might walk by there in bare feet someday”, “don’t get caught between a rock and a stone”, or “Buy high, sell low, and make it up on volume” will always make us smile. The Alexanian family will receive visitors at the Erb &amp; Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo on Monday evening 7-9 p.m., Tuesday afternoon 2-4 p.m. and evening 7-9 p.m. A Funeral service will be held Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. at Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 527 Bridgeport Street East, Kitchener, ON. Donations to one of the following charities would be appreciated: Heart and Stroke, Grand River Regional Cancer Centre, Kiwanis Foundation of Canada (for the Eastern Canada and Caribbean project: Children with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean), Waterloo Regional Down Syndrome Society.