Honoring the event with their presence were the late benefactor's wife Mrs. Eleanor Dickranian, Mrs. Cynthia Norian, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Karabian, Mrs. Satenic Michaelian, the School Board Chairman Mr. George K. Mandossian, the Board Vice Chairman Mr. Parsegh Kartalian and board members Mr. Diran Depanian, Mr. Shahe Boyadjian and Mrs. Arpi Avanesian-Idolor. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese, presided at the ceremony assisted by the church's pastor Archpriest Manoug Markarian and deacons.

Following the requiem service, the students paid tribute to their benefactor and the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide in a fitting program.  Twelfth grader Ani Taglyan acted as the MC, calling upon the program participants to present their speeches and poetry recitations, while the school choir intermittently joined in with hymnals.

Born on January 26, 1905 in Izmit, Turkey, Arshag Dickranian was a survivor of the Genocide. The Dickranian family immigrated to the US in 1923, thereupon setting off young Arshag to get into the fruit and vegetable trade business, and eventually to open the Premier Market in Beverly Hills. Throughout his life, Arshag Dickranian selflessly dedicated himself to promote goodwill among the Armenian communities, sharing his fortunes generously wherever the needs were impending. Today, sixteen years after his passing, the trend continues through the benevolent actions of his wife Eleanor and daughters Cynthia and Laurel.

Dickranian's proudest accomplishment was the establishment of the Tekeyan Cultural Association Arshag Dickranian School in 1981. Since then, the school has become a lasting legacy of his belief that the Armenian spirit could only be preserved by educating the young generations and nurturing their commitment to the Armenian cause.  Mr. Dickranian remained faithful to his beliefs until his death in the early hours of April 24, 1996.

In his closing remarks of the ceremony, Archbishop Derderian congratulated the students for marking April 23 as Dickranian School's annual day of remembrance for the victims of the Armenian Genocide and for the school's benefactor. He reminded the students to never forget their identity and to love it as much as the victims of the genocide did.

In keeping with their past practice, the Dickranians expressed their appreciation by presenting a check in the amount of $25,000 to the school Board of Trustees.

Located at 1200 North Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, the TCA Arshag Dickranian Armenian School is a federally tax exempt, Pre-K to 12th grade private educational institution. Call (323) 461-4377, or visit the school website at www.dickranianschool.org for more information.