Arthur Mardoian

Arthur Mardoian

Arthur Richard Mardoian of New Canaan and South Bristol, Maine, died peacefully on Thursday, May 22, at his home in New Canaan with his family by his side He was 87

He was born in Boston, Mass, on April 28, 1927, to Harry and Marion Mardoian and grew up in New Haven After graduating from high school, he served in the US Army overseas in Japan He then attended and graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, in 1952 with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering He returned to the Army to serve in the Korean War as a First Lt He retired from the Army Reserves in April of 1987 as a Lt Colonel

Mr Mardoian, a former executive at Mobil Corp (now Exxon Mobil Corp), joined Mobil (formerly Socony Vacuum Oil Corp) in 1954 He held various managerial positions in the marketing and refinery, technology sales and licensing and chemical divisions At the manufacturing level, he headed Mobil's task force which designed, erected and successfully operated the world's first commercial zeolitic catalyst plant Today, the worldwide petroleum industry is dependent on the use of zeolitic catalysts to produce vastly increased gasoline yields and other valuable products The catalyst saved significant investment capital and years of construction time In addition, Mr Mardoian authored Mobil's company-wide Transportation Emergency Response System to react, within minutes, to company hyrdocarbon spills within the United States He retired in 1987

Mr Mardoian was a member of the Reserves Officers Association of the United States, the American Legion and also served as Eastern Regional chairman of Rensselaer Alumni Fund Other prominent memberships included the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, American Petroleum Institute, American Chemical Society and API Hazardous Materials Spill Committee

He was a member of the Congregational Church of New Canaan and served as a Deacon, the Silvermine Golf Club in Norwalk, Christmas Cove Improvement Association in South Bristol, Maine, and Wawencock Country Club in Walpole, Maine His further interests included playing cards, landscaping and gardening, golfing, gourmet cooking, classic cars, fast walking, traveling, his home in Maine, and his beloved family, his family said

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Penelope Anne Mardoian; his son, Richard Arthur and wife, Christine Victoria Mardoian of West Chester, Pa; his three grandchildren, Michael Arthur, Richard Thomas and Madison Clarianna, also of West Chester, Pa; his sister, Lucille F Kujian of Narberth, Pa; in addition to nieces and nephews He was pre-deceased by his brother, George H Mardoian of Woodbridge

A memorial service will be held at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, 23 Park St, on Saturday, Nov 1, at 11 am Memorial contributions may be made to the Mary Bradley Clarke Music Fund of the church