The Diocese
Posted: 08/12/2016
The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America mourns the loss of Rose Ketchoyan, a beloved mother, a Diocesan benefactress and an esteemed parishioner of St. Peter Armenian Church of Van Nuys.
Rose Ketchoyan, predeceased by her husband, John V. Ketchoyan, passed away August 5, 2016 in California. Rose was 91. Vesper Service took place on Thursday August 11, 2016, at 7:00pm, in St Peter Armenian Church of Van Nuys. Her funeral service was held on Friday at 10:30am in the church and was followed by a Memorial Luncheon in St. Peter Church Karagozian Hall. With His Eminence Archbishop Vatche Hovsepian, Archpriest Fr. Shnork Demirjian, Diocesan clergy and deacons participating, the service was officiated by the Diocesan Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian.
The Interment will take place on Saturday, August 13, 2016.
Memorial donations are suggested for either St. Peter Armenian Church Building Fund (send online http://www.stpeterarm.org/donate) or the Western Diocese's Summer Camp - Ketchoyan Fund.
A letter of condolence addressed to the Ketchoyan family was also sent by His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.
During the Vespers Service, the Primate reflected on the life of Rose Ketchoyan with the following message. "What brings us together in this most sacred place is the celebration of a fulfilled life for the glory of God, for the mission of the Church, and the life dedicated to family. Many of us may have heard a message conveyed to us in the sacrament of the Holy Matrimony when our forefathers convey to couples a unique statement “Multiply, replenish, fill the Earth and rule over it.” This message has truly been grasped and lived thoroughly by our beloved Rose, a lady, who has armored her life with the Christian Faith, with divine love and wisdom, with a compassionate heart serving the people of God throughout her life and thus, ruling over the Earth.
The Earth, in theological terms, is life itself which God has entrusted to us as the most precious gift so that we may not only value and live it with wisdom but also to become the steward who turns the given life into thirty-fold, sixty-fold and hundred-fold. How can we celebrate the life of our beloved Rose when we all know well that she will no longer be with us? Her beautiful smile and human touch will no longer move us forward and inspire us all with the gracious spirit that had been bestowed upon her by the Almighty God. As Christians, we look the passing of a beloved one not as the end of a journey of our God-given lives but we take death as a “bridge” that connects life and eternity. Each time when we lose a beloved one we are in pain and thousands of thoughts dominate and distort our mind and soul as to what life is all about and where do we depart from this life? However, for people who have lived the Christian Faith, as is the case with our beloved Rose, their exemplary Christian way of life reawakens within our spirituality that death brings us to the edge of the new journey, a journey that ultimately leads to eternity.
Rose never had the fear of death. She certainly has conquered the stigma of death for she has lived her life with God and felt in the depth of her heart the divine peace which she has transpired in the most unique way.
I have known her only for fourteen years and I will always remember Rose each time I enter into my office every morning, for as I open my door, my eyes will gaze at the plaque of the Ketchoyan family, which they had so graciously dedicated. Rose loved her family, served her church and the Western Diocese in dignity and with a humble soul. She has become an inspirational and a staunch leader in our community life. Her presence has been felt in every place where she entered with pride and elegance. One had no other word than the word “Lady” to define her character. She will definitely be missed by us all. We pray God to be a companion during this journey to heaven as she has lived her life with God."
IN LOVING MEMORY - ROSE MARGARET KETCHOYAN
At the funeral service, the Primate delivered the following message: “The human person is the glory of God.”
I chose this statement with a specific purpose and good intention, for humanity being created in the image of God can actually transpire the divine and elevate the self towards God. To many this may sound strange, as it may incline to reflect the idea that the human person can be equal to God. Certainly that is not the intention. What it implies that we are graced with the gift to create.
Our beloved Rose certainly lived a creative life. She enriched the journey of her life with virtuous deeds. As I stated in my remarks last night, she has been an inspiring presence in our community. As a wife, mother and grandmother, a dedicated daughter of the Armenian Apostolic Church and a close friend to many, she certainly was able to touch our hearts with her faith life, with the commitment she had shown for divine ordinance and the ability to create life has become the glory of God.
Today, as she continues her journey to heaven, we uplift our hearts and thank God for the gift of her life. We ask the Almighty God to reckon her amongst the ranks of the heavenly saints and grant her beloved ones a blessed year.
The Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teaches us not to mourn the death of our beloved ones, for we are becoming partakers in the suffering of the Lord and partakers in His Glorious Resurrection.
The most fulfilling way to honor the memory of Rose would be to follow her path of life and turn our lives into the glory of God.”
