[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 55 (Thursday, May 1, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO GASPER MAGARIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. GEORGE P. RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 1997

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Gasper 
Magarian. Mr. Magarian, a Fresno, CA attorney, has the distinction of 
being the oldest practicing attorney in the State of California.
  As noted in a recent article from the Armenian General Benevolent 
Union magazine [AGBU], Magarian's family--like many other Armenian 
families in Fresno--arrived in America 100 years ago. His family 
immigrated to Massachusetts to escape the atrocities suffered under 
Ottoman Turkish persecution. Magarian was born in Billercia, MA, and 
moved to Fresno in 1904 with his parents. His brothers and sisters were 
all born after the family moved to Fresno.
  His brothers and sisters range in age from 85-94 years old. Magarian, 
the oldest brother at age 97, is the only sibling still practicing in 
his current profession. He has voluntarily cut back on the amount of 
hours that he practices at the law firm of Heyman, Krikorian and 
Magarian, located in downtown Fresno. The Magarian name on the firm is 
that of his grandson Mark, but his 62-year-old son Donald--and Magarian 
himself--later joined in on the firm's ventures. Grandson Mark Magarian 
calls his grandfather, Gasper, ``one of our most valuable assets.'' 
Others in the firm speak to the advantage to having someone around with 
70 years of legal experience.
  Magarian remarks that life for lawyers has changed since his earlier 
days. Magarian graduated from a local Fresno high school and attended 
Stanford University in 1919. At the time, there was no tuition at 
Stanford and incidental fees totaled about $60. Magarian finished law 
school and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1926. He began 
to work for a San Francisco law firm, but eventually moved back to 
Fresno in 1934.
  In the first 50 years of his practice, Magarian handled issues 
ranging from bankruptcy, divorce, land transfers, and criminal cases. 
Magarian also handled a varied workload of paid cases, while 
maintaining a pro bono caseload for the middle class and the poor. 
Throughout his career he has also maintained a close relationship with 
the Armenian community.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have Mr. Magarian practicing law in the 
19th congressional district. His love for the legal profession and his 
perspective on life is both refreshing and inspirational. I 
congratulate him on his lifetime of accomplishments and ask my 
colleagues to join me in wishing him every success on his future 
endeavors.

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