Born July 4, 1928, in New York City, he was the son of Karnik
and Loutfia “Olga” Degermenjian Chorbajian. He is remembered by those closest
to him for his mathematical mind and fast wit. He lived his last years of life
in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Maintaining a strong New York
City identity, he had avid interest in operatic and orchestral music and
attended performances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall throughout his
lifetime. He also lived for brief periods in Orlando, FL and Mission Hills, CA.
Following a family tradition, he pursued a mathematics major at New York
University from 1944 – 1946 after receiving scholarship opportunities from
Harvard and Cornell Universities. His father, who was a survivor of the
Armenian genocide and native of Marash, Turkey attended Sorbonne and Oxford
Universities in Europe. Excelling academically was a Chorbajian characteristic.
Like many at the time, he entered the United States Army on July 11, 1946 to
serve in the National Emergency Occupations Forces in the Artillery Training
Program. He also was selected for the United States Army Counter Intelligence
Corps (Army CIC) and was stationed in Munich, Germany and Yokohama, Japan,
south of Tokyo. As a returning soldier, and through family introductions, he
met and married Marguerite Caroline Kolligian on November 18, 1951. Sharing a
mutual Armenian American culture as children of genocide survivors, they
instilled during their 42-year marriage the importance of heritage, culture and
education to their daughter Christine.
Marguerite predeceased him on February 20, 1994. After the death of his
first wife, he met and married another Armenian American, Mary, in 1999 and
they remained married for 12 years until her death on June 17, 2011. She is
buried in Bath National Cemetery, Bath, NY. His career interests changed and
ranged from bookkeeping for commercial and non-profit organizations to
managerial level positions in the burgeoning audio stereo industry in NY from
the 1960’s – 1980’s, primarily at Sam Goody’s flagship store in Manhattan. He
was fascinated by the sound engineering and design of electronic audio systems
of the time. The work also blended his mathematical thinking with his passion
for classical music. He later expanded his retail interests to furniture sales
prior to retirement to Orlando, Florida. Amused with solving equations, he was
a man who spent hours strategizing fast paced moves at a backgammon board with
family and friends. It was his signature way of snickering behind watchful eyes
and a calm face prodding his opponent with his mind moving like a whip.
Surviving are: daughter and son-in-law, Christine Olga
Peters and Donald Arthur Peters of Indio, CA and Calverton, NY; brother, Craig
Adrian (Haig Chorbajian) and family of Howard Beach, CA; first cousins, Joyce
Chorbajian of NYC, Armene Chorbajian of Arlington, MA, Edward Chorbajian of
NYC, Victor Chorbajian of Timonium, MD, John Chorbajian of Warwick, NY, and
Richard Chorbajian of Rutherford, NY; sisters-in-law, Doris Kolligian Crisci of
New Port Richey, FL, Virginia Kolligian Loomis and family , Glenwood Springs,
CO, and Madeline Kolligian Glenn and family of Rochester Hills, MI.
Burial will be in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Flushing, NY with
his first wife, Marguerite.
Arrangements are under the direction of Mulholland-Crowell
Funeral Home, Wellsville, NY. Online condolences may be expressed at
www.wellsvillefuneralhome.com.
