Katherine Mardian
Katherine Mardian, known affectionately as Kathy, passed away peacefully July 11, 2012, at the age of 90 in Phoenix. She was born in Adana, Armenia, the youngest child of Haighouie and Manoug Evkhanian. She arrived with her family at Ellis Island in September 1923.
Kathy and her sister, Serarpi, and brothers, James and Vahe, grew up in Pasadena, Calif., surrounded by a loving extended family that included many uncles, aunts and cousins. She was granted her American citizenship in 1932. Kathy attended Pasadena Junior College and sang in the choir at the Armenian Cilicia Congregational Church.
In January 1942, she married Daniel Mardian, and in 1946, they moved to Phoenix where they started the construction business with his brothers. Her support contributed to the success of Mardian Construction. The Dan and Kathy Mardian ASU Student Scholarship is a testament to their shared belief in education and the importance of training in the construction trades.
Kathy and Dan were active founding members of the Church of the Beatitudes, where she shared her flower-arranging and wreath-making talents, served as a Sunday school teacher and participated in many church functions.
Through her life, Kathy derived great enjoyment from the piano, playing from memory the songs she learned in her youth. She had a passion for gardening and she often had a pocketful of seeds which she intended to plant. Her appreciation for nature was most fully realized in visits to her family’s summer home, her refuge, in Oak Creek Canyon.
Kathy is predeceased by her husband, Dan, who passed away in 2010 after 68 years of marriage, by her son, Paul Mardian and by her sister, Serarpi Samerjan. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Dan and Terri Mardian, of Phoenix, and their children; by her son and daughter-in-law Tom and Bonnie Mardian of Tucson and their daughter and her children; by her son and daughter in-law John and Christine Mardian of Scottsdale and their children; by her son and daughter-in-law Scott and Elaine Mardian of Phoenix and their sons; and by her daughter-in-law Linda Mardian of Phoenix. She is also survived by her brothers.
Kathy was a caring and generous person who went out of her way to enrich the lives of her family, friends and even strangers.