Harry Orbelian

Harry Orbelian Born August 5, 1920 in Tatev, Zangezur Province, (Soviet) Armenia. His Spirit left his physical body on March 26, 2006 while surrounded by his family and friends at his home in Sonoma, CA. Harry was the son of the late Agaparon Orbelian and Sophia Atarbekova. During the Soviet purges of 1936 Harry's father was killed by Stalin's regime and his mother was sent to a concentration camp (she was later released in 1943, but was not reunited with her sons until 1960). Harry and his brother continued to go to school and worked part-time to support themselves. In 1940, after graduating from high school, Harry was drafted into the Soviet Armed Forces when World War II began in June 1941. Captured in Russia and sent to a POW camp in Hamburg, Germany in 1943, Harry was released in 1945 when Germany was occupied by the British and American forces. From 1946 to 1948, Harry attended medical school in M unich, where he met Vera Voznesenskaya, a medical doctor, whom he would later marry in 1953. Harry came to the United States on December 21, 1948 as a United Nations Displaced Person, at Ellis Island, New York with $10 in his pocket and limited English (he spoke fluent Armenian, Russian and German). In early 1949, Harry moved to SF and started working at Gump's. Harry also began a career in real estate investment in 1954, Harry quickly worked his way up at Gump's and was appointed director of operations and a Member of the Board of Directors. He retired in 1978 - the last to carry the torch of the visionary Gump's legacy. He then joined the SF Chamber of Commerce heading their Int'l Dept. Harry organized numerous trade missions to more than 50 countries and brought heads of state and foreign dignitaries of the world to our city, including Chinese president Jiang Zemin, Queen Elizabeth and Secretary of State Colin Powell when he was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. SF was thrust into the world spotlight when Harry single-handedly orchestrated the visit of Mikhail Gorbachev. It all started in 1985, with the visit of Mayor Dianne Feinstein and Harry to Moscow as the personal guests of the newly appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1992, Harry left the Chamber of Commerce and thanks to the support of Chevron, Bechtel, Bank of America, and others, founded the SF Global Trade Council which is active in promoting international ties between the Bay Area and the rest of the world. Harry worked closely with our diplomatic community representing the Bay Area, and various city, state and federal government agencies, including the Mayor's Office of International Trade & Commerce and the Protocol Office. Serving as its president, Harry and the Council organized numerous events and programs with members of the Bay Area business and diplomatic communities. In addition to Harry's career accomplishments, he received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, bestowed upon 400 Americans in the past 12 years, including several US presidents, for their contributions to strengthening a free society and a prosperous United States. Harry is survived by his wife of 53 years, Vera; and their three children, six grandchildren and two great-grand children; their daughter Helen is a real estate broker with Pacific Union and her husband Jerry Burns, and their daughters Kimberly, Monica and Elizabeth. Kimberly is married to Carson Turner and they have two children, Reece and Remy. George, an artist, author and expert on surfboard design also develops and manages the family real estate portfolio is married to Marcia. Their sons, Craig and Wade attend UCLA. Constantine, concert pianist and conductor/director of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, The Philharmonia of Russia, has made numerous recordings with Delos International is an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation. He's married Maria Safariants, concert violinist and also an Honored Artist of the Russian Federation; they have 12 year old son, Gevork. Harry is also survived by his brother, Konstantine a prolific jazz and symphonic composer and musician, he conducted his own jazz band in Armenia and the former USSR. His illustrious career earned him a Peoples Artist of the Soviet Union medal as well as many other awards. Funeral Services will be Wed, March 29, 2006 11:00 am, at the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church, 51 Commonwealth Ave, SF. Interment will be private. Assisting the family with their wishes Abby Chapel of the Redwoods Mortuary, 415- 331-1982, Anthony Villeggiante Director. To send the family a condolence go to www.abbymortuary.com/obits. Contributions in Harry's name can be sent to the CPMC Foundation in care of the (dept of medicine teaching fund), PO Box 45902, SF, CA, 94145-0902.