[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MRS. MELENA BOGHOSIAN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GEORGE RADANOVICH

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2009

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of an 
Armenian Genocide survivor, Mrs. Melena Boghosian. She passed away at 
her home in Fresno, California at the age of one hundred and three.
  A fifty-five year resident of Fresno, California, Mrs. Boghosian was 
known around the community for her amazing survival story during the 
First World War, when the Ottoman Turks massacred an estimated 1.5 
million Armenians. Born in Erzurum Turkey, she fled her home as a young 
child after her parents and siblings were murdered, in an attempt by 
the Ottoman Empire to eliminate any Armenian presence in the area. 
Missionaries took young Melena to an orphanage in Syria where she lived 
for several years.
  During her stay at the orphanage, Melena began corresponding with her 
future husband Avedis Gegaregian. At the age of sixteen, she left the 
orphanage and married Avedis in Beirut, Lebanon. Shortly after they 
were married, the two traveled by ship to the United States and 
immigrated through Ellis Island in New York City. Avedis and Melena 
settled in Camden, New Jersey until Avedis' death in the mid-1950's.
  After the death of her first husband, Melena moved to the Central 
Valley of California, to be closer to family and friends. While living 
in Fresno, she worked in alterations at Berkeley's Department Store. 
She later met, and married, her second husband, Nooregan Boghosian, and 
they lived together until his death. Melena was an active member of the 
Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church and a life long member of the 
Armenian Relief Society. She is survived by her daughter Jessy 
Shahbazian.
  Madam Speaker, I stand today to honor the extraordinary life of Mrs. 
Melena Boghosian. I invite my colleagues to join me in this tribute to 
this incredible woman, and hope that her legacy lives on for future 
generations.

                          ____________________