AZARIAN, Rose of Arlington. Passed away peacefully on February 3, 2017 at age 86 after an extended illness. Beloved wife of the late Thomas Azarian. Loving mother of Stephen Azarian and his wife Anne (Fiske) of Burlington and Linda Carmody of Woburn. Devoted grandmother of Michelle and Kristen Carmody, Michael and Paul Azarian and Jill Azarian Doyle and her husband, Brian. Great grandmother of Sofia Doyle.
Rose was born in Marseilles, France in 1930. She lived through the drama and terror of World War II in France as a little girl and, after coming to the United States, she often told stories to her children and grandchildren of the air raid sirens, bombings and running to bomb shelters when she was attending school in France. Rose’s father passed away in France when Rose was a young girl.
Rose and her mother, Mary, immigrated to the United States after the War, when Rose was 18 years old, staying for a short time with relatives in Watertown, then soon moving to Arlington where she met and married her husband of 38 years, Thomas Azarian, raising their two children, Steve and Linda. Rose lived in Arlington until about a year ago, when she moved to the nursing home in Winchester, where she passed away.
Before her marriage, Rose worked for a while as a seamstress in Boston while attending language school, quickly learning to be fluent in the English language. She was able to master four different languages, speaking French, Armenian, English and some Turkish.
Rose was a “stay at home Mom”, becoming very active in her children’s school related activities (PTA, Brownies, Cub Scouts, sports, etc.), including church and Sunday School activities at St James Armenian Apostolic Church in Watertown. Her mother and stepfather lived with Rose and her family in Arlington. When her kids were older, Rose became a Social Worker for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Welfare Department, where she stayed working for more than 20 years. She was able to put her talents of being a helpful, caring person in a job where she could help others and enjoyed her work very much. She was a very proud and dignified person.
Rose always put the interests of others ahead of hers and was known to be a very loving, caring, kind, helpful compassionate person. She was very active in stepping in and caring for her grandchildren, particularly Michelle and Kristen, when needs arose, with no hesitation. She was strong willed and independent, having been widowed for the last 26 years, living independently in her house in Arlington.
Rose was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 11 years ago this month and the progression of the illness was very slow throughout this time, allowing Rose to continue her independent lifestyle for an extended period of time, but requiring her to move to the nursing home about a year ago. Unfortunately, in the past week or so, the progression became significantly worse and took this caring and loving person from us. Memorial donations may be made in Rose's memory to Alzheimer's Assoc., 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472.