Laurel Dickranian Karabian

478
0

Laurel

Dickranian School Benefactor

LOS ANGELES — Laurel Dickranian Karabian, passed away on October 19. She was 60.

She was born in Beverly Hills, to Archie and Eleanor Dickranian.

She attended Beverly Hills High School and graduated cum laude from Pomona College where she majored in Renaissance studies. She earned her MBA in fine arts management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Her love of music took her to San Francisco, where she worked as the associate director of development for the San Francisco Symphony. She moved back to Los Angeles to take a position with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the director of development. Later she worked as an independent consultant providing management and fundraising services for arts and community organizations.

Get the Mirror in your inbox:

Beyond music, Karabian was a huge advocate for and passionate about the arts and education. She was appointed by former Gov. George Deukmejian to the California Arts Council. She was a member of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, served as a board member of the Armenian Library and Museum of America, and was the founding president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Armenian International Women’s Association. In addition, she contributed her expertise to many other volunteer organizations.

She enjoyed going to the opera, theater, ballet, and symphony with her family and friends. She loved to travel and had a particular love for Italy, and spent many summers in Venice. There, she continued to learn Armenian, which was her fourth language, including French and Italian.

As much as she loved to travel, many of her happiest times were at her family’s home in Malibu and at her apartment in San Francisco.

She and her husband were benefactors of the Arshag Dickranian Armenian School, which had been founded by her parents. Her daughter, Madeline, attended the school from nursery through the eighth grade.

She is survived by her daughter Madeline and her husband former California State Assembly Majority Leader Walter Karabian, and his son Benjamin. She is also survived by her sister Cindy (Ken) Norian.

Services were held Monday, October 27, at St. Leon Armenian Cathedral 3325 N. Glenoaks Blvd. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Arshag Dickranian Armenian School, 1200 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90038.

(Editor’s Note: An abbreviated version of this obituary appeared on the front page of last week’s Mirror-Spectator.)

Get the Mirror-Spectator Weekly in your inbox: