The Eastern Diocese mourns the passing of Dr. Edgar M. Housepian, an internationally-renowned neurosurgeon and a founding member of the Fund for Armenian Relief, who passed away on November 14. He was 86.
Dr. Housepian was heir to a remarkable family tradition of compassionate involvement in Armenian life. In an earlier era, his parents Dr. Moses and Makrouhi Housepian were pioneers in humane outreach to our homeland. The warmth of their family life in New York was memorably portrayed in the novel A Houseful of Love, by Dr. Edgar Housepian’s late sister Marjorie Housepian Dobkin.
Days after the 1988 earthquake in Armenia, Dr. Housepian joined the late Archbishop Torkom Manoogian and the late Kevork Hovnanian on a visit to our homeland to assess the damage and formulate a response. From that trip, the seeds of the Fund for Armenian Relief were planted.
For more than 20 years, Dr. Housepian led FAR’s effort to restructure the health care system in Armenia. Thanks to his foresight, a new generation of Armenian physicians would enjoy invaluable opportunities for training and education.
“In the life of Dr. Edgar Housepian, we witnessed an example of the Armenian heritage at its best,” wrote Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian in a message this week. “Our Diocese was blessed to enjoy his incisive counsel, his visionary leadership, and his gentle, down-to-earth presence for many years.”
Dr. Housepian’s wife Marion predeceased him last November. Dr. Housepian is survived by his children Stephen, David and his wife Leah, and Jean and her husband Bart Costello.
A memorial service for Dr. Housepian will be held at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral on Saturday, February 14, 2015, at 11:00 a.m. It will be followed by a hokejash (memorial luncheon) and a special program of remembrance.
Easter Diocese of the Armenian Church of America
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Late Dr. Edgar Housepian was the son of one of the ADLP late leaders and veteran member Movses Hovsepian
