Minas Mihranyan was born in the town of Bakirkoy, in In istanbul, Turkey. Bakirkoy was a small seashore town with a significant population of Armenian and Greek families during the 30s through the 60s. His Father Jirayr, was the town barber and his mom Terezig, took care of raising Minas, and his younger siblings, Zarmine and Yeprem. Minas at an early age had two main interests. Serving the Armenian Church and Playing Soccer. He started serving on the alter when he was 8 years old and played soccer on several clubs representing Bakirkoy and then eventually the semi-pro soccer club Taksim which was predominantly made up of Christian players competing in a Muslim league which made things quite interesting before and after the games.
Minas attended The Dadian Armenian Elementary and Middle School then attended the prestigious Getronagan Armenian High School to complete his education. He then served in the Turkish army as an officer in the region of Kars and Bitlis, known for brutal winters, as most Christian Turkish citizens were sent to less desirable areas of the country to serve their mandatory army duties during that time. When he came back he started working in the textile market of Istanbul and started learning the trade.
He then met and married Berjoohi Gulluian in 1960 and had a son (Bogos aka Paul) in 1961. After living in Istanbul until 1977, they immigrated to Philadelphia to join Bogos who had already been living with his aunt and uncle in Havertown.
Minas and Berjoohi parted in 1978 and after a few years he met Koharig Ayvazian and they were married for 33 years. They purchased and worked side by side at Goldmine, a delicatessen in center city Philadelphia getting up at 4 am and putting in 12 hour days 6 days a week. During the later years, As Minas started showing signs of decline, Kohar took great care of Minas and he always acknowledged how grateful he was for her. Minas worked with his son Paul for several years before he had to retire to have full care for his Alzheimer Dementia.
During his tenure at Lighting by Design, he was famous for receiving boxes from UPS that no one could find for hours.
One of the highlights of the later years was when he traveled to Istanbul with his son the same week of his name day and visited 5 churches named Saint Minas "Surp Minas" that he was named after. Accomplishing this gave Minas great satisfaction and he spend quality time with his brother Yeprem over a few "raki and meze" feasts.
It's very meaningful that he passed a day before his saint name day, Saint Minas "Surp Minas" which he took very seriously, to be with God on his day.
He served his Lord and the Armenian Church for 81 years without interruption and looked forward to serving every Sunday with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas Morning.
He could recite most Armenian prayers and the entire Badarak at will. He was a true, devout servant of the Armenian Church. He would calculate his vacations around church time and until the end all he ever talked about was the church.
He loved his grandchildren Elise, Mikael, Armand and Lilia and was very proud of them.
One of his favorite church stories was when his granddaughter Elise would scream "Dede" over and over with excitement when she would see him serving on the altar during mass. He loved Lilia's eyes and kind heart , boasted about Armand's smarts and always told his son Paul to be patient with Mikael when he was testing the waters. Wise words of a loving grandfather.
He took great joy the fact that he had a wonderful daughter in Arlet he always wanted who loved him and respected him as her dad.
Minas loved and respected Greg for being a wonderful family man and a great father to his grandchildren.
He always looked forward to "Kef" time that consisted a glass of Raki, and his favorite "meze" was Feta Cheese, Tomatoes and bread.
It did not hurt that Kohar was a great cook and he always had a lot to choose from at this table.
He did not need much to be happy. He was a super hard worker and never complained.
He also loved and followed his beloved soccer team Besiktas until the very end.
Minas is survived by Koharig Mihranyan, (spouse), Son, Paul Mihranian (Tina) Daughter, Arlet Zeibari (Greg) , Grandchildren Elise , Mikael, Armand, Lilia , Sister, Zarmine Zabunian (Canada), Brother Yeprem Mihranyan (Istanbul)
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday December 4, 2019 at 11 am from the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, 630 Clothier Road, Wynnewood, PA, 19096 where friends and family may visit from 10 am till time of service.
Interment Northwood cemetery Downingtown
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the St. Sahag and St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church at the above address.
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