Armen Boyd, Sr.

Armen Boyd, Sr. Resident of Pleasant Hill for 53 years. Armen Boyd was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin March 18, 1931 to parents Nevrig and Hetoum Boyajian who took the American names Rose and Thomas (sometimes Harry) Boyd. Armen was blessed to have an older brother Leo who was his mentor after the divorce of their parents when Armen was age 2. Their mother Rose, who had a love of music and the creative arts, made certain that her sons had piano lessons. At age 4, Armen showed the gift of playing piano by ear. Throughout his school years he was involved in the musical scene of Milwaukee - organizing bands for parades, performing in High School Musical activities, and serving as the Music Club President at Riverside High. When Armen's brother left to serve in the Coast Guard in WWII, Leo's letters to then 10-year old Armen were a "guiding light" for this talented young man. As a pre-teen and teen, Armen spent his summers by Lake Michigan learning the art of sailing and picking cherries on the nearby farms while helping his mother in her beauty salon and continuing his musical activities. When Armen graduated from High School, he took classes at the University of Wisconsin while he worked in the local Chalmers factory. After a 3 month sojourn in Paris visiting family friends in 1950, he returned to Milwaukee and enlisted in the Navy to serve in the Korean conflict. In April of 1952, while he was in boot camp in San Diego, Armen met and married Susan Chookoorian. While he had hoped to be assigned to ship duty based out of San Diego, he was assigned to a Top Secret Communications position and sent to Adak, Alaska for intelligence duty. (alas more snow for this Wisconsin boy!) To keep himself going in the cold, during his off-duty hours in Alaska, Armen formed a small band that played at officer's club parties. He soon welcomed a transfer to Washington DC where he worked at the National Security Agency (NSA) in classified naval communications, receiving the National Defense Service Medal for his work there. His wife Susan joined him in Baltimore, Maryland where they lived until his assignment with the Navy ended in 1955. With their first child Ardemis, they returned to the warmth of California. They lived in San Francisco where Armen attended San Francisco City College, graduating with honors and then on to SF State, majoring in music. Armen and Susan added two sons to the family, Armen Jr. in 1956 and Aram in 1958, and moved to Oakland where Armen taught general and choral music at Lowell Junior High School. The Boyds then settled in Pleasant Hill. After a long illness, Armen sadly lost his wife to cancer. With the help of his mother to raise the children, Armen continued working at Lowell Jr. High. After joining the choir at St. Vartan Church in Oakland, CA, he met Evelyn Chituni and they married in July 1963. Two years later Armen decided to teach closer to home and in 1965, he began teaching music at Pleasant Hill Intermediate. Daughter Arlene was born, and in 1967 they completed their family with daughter Annette. Armen's choruses entered local competitions, consistently winning "Command Performances" for their musicianship. His students presented colorful musical events much to the delight of the Pleasant Hill community. In addition to work and family, Armen had many hobbies during these productive years. For seventeen years he, his family, and countless friends and sailing buddies enjoyed sailing the waters of the Oakland Estuary and San Francisco Bay aboard his twenty-two foot Catalina sailboat - the "HummingBoyd". Armen also enjoyed his backyard farm - the chickens that provided fresh eggs, the vegetable garden with bounteous tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and other squash, and his fruit trees. Throughout these years, Armen was involved in activities at St. Vartan Church in Oakland. He sang in the Choir regularly, served as a member of the Parish Council, hosted and emceed numerous "Roasts" of community members, helped curate Art Exhibitions for Church members, and made sure the coffee was always on and ready to be served at the Annual Bazaar. Armen was also a member of the Mt. Diablo Triple X Fraternity, serving in many leadership positions including Chapter Master, where he organized many Family Christmas party events, picnics, and service outings. Armen retired from teaching in 1991. He continued to enjoy his backyard farm and the fruits of his labor - the pomegranates, tangerines, plums, apricots, baby grapes, and loquats - which he loved to share with friends and neighbors. He also explored a host of additional talents he possessed - painting, ceramics, teaching chess - in addition to spending more time doing what he loved so much - playing the piano. Armen played in the Tice Valley Dixieland Jazz band and various other bands, while also performing solo gigs to entertain so many across the Diablo Valley and the East Bay. Armen was delighted that all of his children were also musical, and he had the pleasure of playing with them on many occasions. And who can forget Armen's sense of humor or his wonderful smile? He was always joking and making people laugh, a wonderful quality that continued even into the last months and days of his life. Diagnosed with lung cancer in summer of 2012, Armen fought valiantly with the disease until his peaceful passing on January 12, 2013. He was happy to have his wife and children help him during this trying period, and continued to enjoy their presence until the last day. He held his last performance - a Christmas sing-a-long for friends and neighbors on December 17th - bringing much joy to those in attendance. Armen will always remain in the hearts of his family and the many friends he made throughout his life's journey. Armen leaves his wife of 49 years, Evelyn, his five children - Ardemis, Armen, Aram, Arlene, and Annette, sons-in-law David Menendian and Sevag Kevranian, daughter-in-law Paula, grandchildren Michael Boyd, Ani (Jordan) Esraelian, and Armen Menendian, and nephews Larry (Pam) Boyd, and Randall (Mary) Boyd and their families of Illinois. Visitation Wednesday, January 16, 2013 04:00 pm-07:00 pm OAK PARK HILLS CHAPEL 3111 N. MAIN ST. Walnut Creek CA 94597 Trisagion Wednesday, January 16, 2013 07:30 pm OAK PARK HILLS CHAPEL 3111 N. MAIN ST. Walnut Creek CA 94597