Armen V. Koochagian

SPARTA -- Armen Koochagian passed away on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at Newton Memorial Hospital, with his family by his side. He was 85 years old. He had resided in Lake Mohawk with his wife Adrienne for 52 years. Armen was born in Philadelphia, later moving to Brooklyn, N.Y., where he attended Brooklyn Tech High School and went on to serve in the U.S. Army, being stationed at Fort Richardson in Alaska. He later graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in architecture.

Armen started his career as an architect for Arthur Riggalo in Clifton and then commuted to New York City, where he was the chief architect for the W.T. Grant Company department store chain. Later in his career, Armen worked locally with Architecture Partnership in Sparta.

Dedicated to the Sparta community, Armen served on the Sparta Board of Education for 15 years, including one term as Board president. He was an active member and past president of Sparta Kiwanis, treasurer and trustee of the Sparta Library Board, and a member and Elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Sparta. Armen was also involved with the Boy Scouts of America at both the local and regional level, including serving as Troop Master of Pack 82.

Armen is survived by his loving wife, Adrienne, and his children, Leslie and her husband, Lawrence Cook, of Ridgefield, Conn., Robert Koochagian and his wife, Robin, of Doylestown, Pa., and Richard Koochagian and his wife, Julie, of Leesburg, Va. He was blessed with seven grandchildren, Andrew, Kyle, Michelle, Matthew, Sara, Casey and Emma. A celebration of life service will be held on Sunday, May 17, at 11 a.m. at the Lake Mohawk Country Club.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory be sent to the Newton Memorial Hospital Foundation, 175 High Street, Newton, NJ 07860.