News

Wednesday 4th May 2005
OBITUARY: GEORGE SARKIS KURKJIAN OBE LLD MA

George Sarkis Kurkjian OBE LLD MA died April 21st, 2005 in London after a brave and lengthy struggle with illness. Born in Heliopolis, Egypt, on July 30th, 1928 to Sarkis N. and Astra Kurkjian, he migrated with his family to England in 1931. He later attended Oundle School and Trinity College Dublin taking a BA and a B.Comm. He married Norma Giamgian (d. 1981) with whom he had two daughters, Marina (d. 1993) and Laura. He remarried in 1987 and his second wife, Diana Meynell, worked with him on many projects of reconstruction and aid to Armenia.

George Kurkjian was a model immigrant making substantial contributions of intellect, time and money to his new country and also to his ethnic and religious heritage. A born leader, he became the chair or president of numerous committees and associations in the City of London as well as within the Armenian community locally and internationally. In 1950 he entered the family business, S.N. Kurkjian Partnership, founded by his grandfather, Nazareth, in 1897. The company, managed in London by his father and then by George and his brother, John Kurkjian, brokered commodities for the food industry principally edible oils and cocoa. His important contributions to the organisation of independent oil and seed commodities firms in the City brought him awards and recognition such as Freeman, City of London (1975) and Liveryman, Tallow Chandlers Company, City of London, culminating in the O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire), bestowed in 1986 for services to the Oils, Seeds and Fats Industry and for initiating the Federation of Oils, Seeds, and Fats Association International.

His service and leadership in the Armenian community was just as distinguished. His parents had been devoted to the Armenian Apostolic Church and he recounted how, as a child he made the weekly journey from Muswell Hill to Kensington with his family in order to attend services regularly. They sat in the front row every week and without knowing it, he memorised the service. Until ill health prevented it at the very end of his life, he rarely missed a Sunday morning, singing with the choir, handing out candles, headscarves, taking part as much as possible. As a young man, he was particularly influenced by two gifted priests in London, both of whom later became Patriarchs of the Church, Shnork Caloustian and Tiran Nersoyan. He was also touched by the Armenian American soldiers visiting London during WWII, who would be taken home from church and given a home-made meal. The young men struck him as "lost, anxious to find other Armenians at a time when their future was unsure” and they would express their gratitude by bringing the family whatever gifts possible, including a gas mask. The family also developed very strong personal links with the late Catholicos Vazken I. Both father and son served as lay representative of the Catholicos in the UK and this distinguished role continued with the present Catholicos Karekin II.

George's father, Sarkis, took over the management of the Armenian Apostolic Church funds worldwide in 1954 and this was continued by George until 2004, requiring numerous trips abroad to assist the Catholicos in financial matters. He joined the Management Trustees of St. Sarkis, London as a young man and became its President in 1978, stepping down in 2004. With his brother John, he funded the reconstruction of St. Sarkis Church in Yerevan, Armenia. Catholicos Vazken I had been able to obtain special permission to repair the church, the first instance of such work during the communist period. This remained the main church in Yerevan until the recent completion of the Cathedral of St. Gregory.

The Order of St. Gregory the Illuminator with Diamonds, the highest award in the Apostolic Church, was given to George Kurkjian in 1976. This was followed by the Order of St. Nerses Shnorhali in 1981.

At the personal request of the Catholicos, he set up and chaired Aid Armenia UK two days after the earthquake in 1988. The charity collected £4 million used for immediate emergency aid and for the construction and equipment of the St Nareg paediatric hospital in Vanadzor. He also accompanied at their request the official UK Government Fact-Finding Delegation to the earthquake zone. The eventual outcome of this was the donation of the Lord Byron School in Gyumri by the British people, later supported in part by the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) London Trust, a UK charitable trust. The school was opened by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on her first trip to the Soviet Block. George was awarded an honorary LLD from Trinity College Dublin for his work following the earthquake.

He was a member of the Central Board of the AGBU from 1986 to 1991 and Vice President of AGBU Europe from 1987 to 1991. From 1988 to 2003 he was Chair of the AGBU London Trust during which time the Trust trebled in asset value size and increased its donations fivefold to over £100,000. The AGBU London Trust extended its funding over a far wider field in the UK, Armenia and Iran including to disadvantaged children, schools, orphan homes, humanitarian aid, aid to small villages, higher education student awards, cultural events, publications and so on. A number of projects involved cooperative funding with other charitable trusts and others raised funds from individuals in the community. He left the chair in 2003 due to ill health having developed the AGBU London Trust into a significant, effective and thriving charity.

He continued to take an active interest in the Lord Byron School, encouraging the British Embassy to continue with its support alongside the AGBU. The school was twinned with Holgate School near Nottingham and he actively supported the exchanges that ensued. George and Diana took great pleasure in attending the annual Byron festivals marking this relationship and worked hard to ensure that students, teachers, parents, townspeople and British Armenians all made the most of the opportunity to learn about each other. The Holgate School website notes that "Two of the principle players in the building of the Lord Byron School, George Kurkjian, OBE, of Aid Armenia and the AGBU and David Dowell of Bracknell Roofing, have since those early days remained tireless supporters of Holgate's efforts to strengthen ties with the Lord Byron School."

George had immense respect within a wide circle of church, official government and Armenian community contacts. He did considerable work in the increasingly warm relationship between the Anglican and Armenian Apostolic Churches, and was called on to facilitate events or developments in semi-governmental and community spheres. His firm hand, impressive inter-personal skills and knowledge will be sorely missed by many. As Harout Aghajanian, the current Chairman of AGBU London and Vice Chairman of the Trust commented: “For me, who knew George personally for the relatively short time of nine years, I will remember him as a compassionate human being who devoted his life to helping others here in the UK and Armenia. He was a dedicated benefactor who worked tirelessly for the good of the UK community, the Church and the deprived and disadvantaged of Armenia. George’s long, loyal and dedicated service to the mission and work of the AGBU will be remembered and greatly missed. I personally will miss his council and the benefit of his wisdom accumulated through his lifelong experience of helping others. George’s legacy will live on through all those who have benefited from his kindness and generosity.”

In a tribute to George on the website "ArmeniaNow", John Hughes writes of his generosity and complete commitment to the people of Armenia, giving examples of both large projects and small personal acts which illustrate the emotional ties underlying the work. He also notes a private sidewhich prevented many people from realising fully the extent of the work he undertook. George Kurkjian was a polished leader, skilled in pushing forward favoured programs or decisions. His sense of humour was both warm and entertaining and also a valuable mode of deflection or control in meetings where temperatures were rising. He worked most effectively with a partner or small team and this was demonstrated by the work he did with his brother John Kurkjian in church matters and the family business, by a long partnership in the AGBU with Armenag Topalian as treasurer and advisor, and most visibly in later years, by his wife Diana. He saw her as his solid rock as she accompanied him on the numerous trips and greatly valued her support.

George Kurkjian is survived by his wife Diana, daughter Laura and her husband Mark Kensington, two granddaughters, Rebecca and Natasha Kensington, his brother John Kurkjian, his wife, Christina and their family.


Dr S Pattie, A Topalian and H Aghajanian

On behalf of present and past AGBU London Trustees