SHEILA LAURIANNA PALANDJIAN

PALANDJIAN, Sheila Laurianna Cherished Matriarch Sheila Laurianna Palandjian of Palm Beach, Fla., formerly of Belmont, MA, died peacefully at home, from Alzheimer's Disease, surrounded by loved ones, on August 9, 2025. She was 84. Sheila was born on May 25, 1941, in Boston, the daughter of Lawrence and Edith Kelly. She grew up in Watertown with her four siblings and pledged to her father, before his death, when Sheila was 12, that she would always look after her mother and siblings. She used the thunderous left hook she had learned from her father (a former Golden Gloves champion) to protect her family and worked odd jobs in high school to provide for them. With beauty to match her toughness, Sheila made local newspaper headline "Watertown Girl Wins State Disabled Veterans Beauty Contest," and as title holder, visited patients at Veterans hospitals while still a junior at Watertown High School. Before graduating, she met the "tall, dark, handsome" foreign college student Petros Palandjian on a blind date. She soon found herself swept away by his ballroom dancing prowess, by frequent weekend dates crashing ethnic weddings, where he played accordion as member of the Jay Anthony Band, and by his mathematical brain and his family values, which she shared. She said "I do" and married him on April 24, 1960. She then moved to Iran to live with Petros' family, who at first lamented that he had married an American and inadvertently selected the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day as their wedding date. Sheila needed very little time to learn Armenian language and cooking, as well as the tradition of fortune telling, which involved reading coffee grounds. Everyone wanted their cup read by Sheila. Sheila came to call this period her "college education," and she became the beloved daughter her in-laws never had. And under the guidance of her mother-in-law, Artzvik, she mastered the skill of allowing Petros to believe he was the decision maker. Sheila bore her first child, Gregory, during the three years the couple lived in Iran before returning to Belmont, where she made a perfect home for Petros and their family, which eventually expanded to four sons. She kept a dust-free, immaculate house while teaching herself to cook for her boys, a broad range of dishes, since embraced by her grandchildren as family classics. Sheila nurtured her boys' pursuit of the advanced opportunities in education and sports that she created for them. Sheila volunteered at the Belmont Day School and The Fessenden School, while reading the canons of literature alongside her children and helping them with writing assignments. She drove her sons to tennis tournaments across New England, as well as to locations nationally, while also encouraging their interests in martial arts and team sports. Sheila travelled the world seeking a cure for Gregory's epilepsy, before losing him tragically and prematurely in 1983. Sheila built an architecturally distinctive vacation home in Falmouth, MA, where she created epic childhood experiences for her children and her nine nephews and nieces. In the '70s and '80s, she hosted iconic summer parties at that home, often coupled with a local tennis tournament, and where she served shish-kabob to Boston's leaders in business, medicine, arts, and government. Petros often attributed his success in business to Sheila's gracious warm aura and wise judgment. After losing Petros to cancer in 1996, Sheila moved to Palm Beach, FL, while continuing to visit her children in Belmont. Sheila played joyously with her 12 grandchildren and helped shape their upbringing. Her convenings and cooking were the glue of her multigenerational family. Her flair for interior, landscape, and fashion design always created an idyllic atmosphere and inspired future generations in different ways. Sheila was generous and empathetic to a fault and found beauty in every person. She maintained profound, lifelong friendships, nurturing them on tennis courts and golf courses. The power of her southpaw forehand and strength of her drive delighted the partners she carried to victory in sport and in life. Sheila was deeply committed to her volunteer work, hosting galas and raising money for the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in her communities in Palm Beach and Boston. She had deep, soulful connections to the several dogs she cared for over her lifetime, most recently her Golden doodle, Stan, who could often be found dining on steak with Sheila and her friends at tables of Palm Beach's finest restaurants. Sheila is survived by her sons, Peter Palandjian and his wife, Eliza, Paul Palandjian and his wife, Dionne, and Leon Palandjian and his wife, Tracy; her grandchildren, Manon Freese and her husband, Nate, Petros Palandjian and his wife, Sydney Harrington, Margot Palandjian, Madelon Palandjian, Nicolas Palandjian, Estelle Palandjian and her husband, Francesco Falcone, Declan Palandjian, Te Palandjian, Charis Palandjian, Pari Palandjian, Bourne Palandjian, and Bodan Palandjian; her great-granddaughter, Mila Freese; her siblings, Lawrence Kelly, Sean Kelly, and Carol Khozozian; and her friend of 16 years, Gianfranco DiCicco. Sheila was preceded in death by her husband, Petros Palandjian; her son, Gregory Palandjian; and her brother, Paul Kelly. Funeral Services will be held on September 4, 2025, at 10 a.m., at Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church, 200 Lexington St., Belmont, with interment to follow at Mount Auburn Cemetery. Hokejash Celebration will follow the Services at Belmont Country Club, 181 Winter St., Belmont, from 1-3:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sheila's honor to the Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church or the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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