Hovhannes John Nishanian

Hovhannes John Nishanian was born in Haleeb (Aleppo) Syria on February 21, 1929 to Haig and Gulezar Nishanian. He was the middle son of three boys, his older brother Nishan and younger brother Setrak. He attended Zavartian Tbrotz Armenian School and growing up, he was a Homentmen Scout. As a young man, he served in the Syrian Army.
In his twenties, John spent three years working in Kuwait as a mechanic-something he would come to do for the rest of his life. Shortly after his return to Allepo, Syria he asked Nishan and Arshalous Panosian for their daughter Vartoughi's (Rose)hand in marriage. They were married shortly after on July 27, 1958. They soon started a family and had three sons: Nishan, Vahe And Krikor. Later in life, they had six precious granddaughters and four great-grandkids.
Following in the footsteps of his brothers, parents, uncles, and other relatives, John moved his family to the United states, settling in Detroit Michigan in January, 1970. He was always hardworking and provided a good life for his family.
As with all immigrants, John went through the struggles of living in a foreign country, learning the language and the landscape of a new way of life. After five short years he and his bride decided to migrate to southern California to escape the cold Michigan climate. For an easier and financially comfortable life, John and Rose later moved their family to Central California and settled permanently in Fresno in 1981.
John loved his wife and life partner; it was a true partnership. They worked diligently, side-by-side to provide their family with a better life. On their modest, combined incomes, life for them and their three sons was a humble one. Yet when the children were growing up, it never felt like their lives were lacking. They seemed to have everything-mostly the joy, warmth, and love of family and friends-and were constantly surrounded by them. Both John and Rose enjoyed hosting people over for food, fun, kef-the Armenian word for party. Growing up, there was always fun, parties and festivities in the home.
John loved his wife and they were married over 66 years. It couldn't have been easy, but they made it look easy. He frequently praised Rose's delicious cooking-there was always a home-cooked meal in the kitchen, and eating out was a rarity. Leftovers? Well, John was a fan. He would say, "It tastes better the next day." Over the years, John became the sous chef. He prepped the ingredients so that Rose could put together wonderful meals, her specialty being Armenian cuisine. He constantly praised her hands for the delicious meals she prepared, and Rose was very grateful for all the parsley, onions, and veggies that John would chop and prep.
John was an avid player of cards and Tavli (backgammon), challenging and beating most, young or old. He had no reservations about winning. John also had a green thumb. He loved his garden and his fruit trees and tended to them daily. He grew grapevines to harvest the leaves for sarma, grape leaves stuffed with meat and rice. On his visits during the harvest season, family would all be given apricots, grapes, pomegranates, loquat, lemons, and peaches.
John had many talents, one being that he was the epitome of the ultimate handyman. He was frequently referred to as Macgyver because he could fix most anything. Visits to the homes of families and friends were often met with a long list of things to fix or help repair. He loved people and was always helping others.
John was also a jokester. One of his favorite things to do was show off the many family pictures throughout their home, which is now a museum of their lives. He would jokingly point to a picture of his young, beautiful bride and say, "This is my first wife," and follow it with "... and my last."
Over the past year, John grew closer to God, hailing praise and thanking God regularly throughout the day. His final words were "Always love each other, respect each other, and help each other."