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In Memoriam: Sima Kalaydjian (1924 - 2016)
Published - 19 August 2016
It is with deep sorrow that we inform the passing of Sima Kalaydjian, a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and a Diocesan benefactress. Sima passed away on August 15, 2016. She was 92. The internment service, presided by the Diocesan Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and with the participation of Diocesan clergy was held on August 19, at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills.
Sima Kalaydjian was born April 10, 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt, to Garabed and Vartouhi Shahbenderian. Her father, Garabed, was a survivor of the Armenian genocide who had fled to Egypt from Caesarea. Sima attended Haigazian Varjaran with her older brother, Krikor.
In 1943, Sima married Nazareth Kalaydjian in Alexandria. The couple was blessed with two children, Mary and Jack.
Sima Kalaydjian was born April 10, 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt, to Garabed and Vartouhi Shahbenderian. Her father, Garabed, was a survivor of the Armenian genocide who had fled to Egypt from Caesarea. Sima attended Haigazian Varjaran with her older brother, Krikor.
In 1943, Sima married Nazareth Kalaydjian in Alexandria. The couple was blessed with two children, Mary and Jack.
Both deeply devout in their faith and committed to the Armenian Church and culture, Sima, predeceased by her husband Nazareth Kalaydjian, were fervent supporters of the Armenian Church and numerous Armenian organizations throughout Los Angeles. In addition to their involvement with the Church’s regular activities, they were founders and godparents of St. John Armenian Apostolic Church in Hollywood and godparents of St. James Armenian Apostolic Church in Los Angeles, and Sima was a godfather of St. Leon Cathedral of the Western Diocese in Burbank.
A memorial luncheon was held in Sima Kalaydjian’s memory at the Nazareth and Sima Kalaydjian Hall of the Western Diocese following the funeral service.
