Jack Hachigian – Farewell to a Family Friend

Now that my mother is gone, there’s no one to spread news
about family and friends. My mother was the ‘grape vine’ of Armenian activities,
spreading any news from east to west, and north to south.

Having lived in Paterson, NJ for much of her youth, Mom
wove close ties to the Armenians-from-Paterson crowd. She kept in touch with
them all, no matter where they ended up as adults.

Jack Hachigian

Mom’s side of the family was particularly close with the
Hachigian family – Moses, Elizabeth, and their sons Paul and Jack. The elders
all came from Musa Dagh and lived near each other in Paterson. We all attended
St. Leon Armenian Church in that same town.

Mom and Jack stayed in touch until her passing just
a few months ago. I’m the one who called him to break the news. Jack talked
about his fond memories of Mom and their parents – the good times and their
times of struggle.

Jack was quite a guy – athlete, scholar, artist, and
cookbook author. He mastered his mother’s recipes from Musa Dagh to create a
very special cookbook, ‘Secrets from an Armenian Kitchen’ which I wrote about a few years ago.

You can imagine my shock and sadness, when I saw an
obituary for Jack in the ‘The Armenian Weekly’! He passed away in San Diego, CA
last month.You can read about his accomplishments in the obit, but you had to
know Jack to fully appreciate the wonderful human being that he was.

In my mind, I know that Mom and Jack are together
catching up on the good-old days, and that makes me smile.

Rest in Peace, Jack.

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