Expert in Rug Care, Local Arts Supporter
DETROIT — Stephen Hagopian, the renowned expert in carpet cleaning, stain removal and restoration for more than five decades in the Detroit metropolitan area, died on October 1, 2014 in Arizona. He was 86.
His talent in resurrecting and restoring fine carpets and fabrics made him the first phone call of the who’s who in Detroit, and garnered him numerous Best of Detroit honors through the years. His skill and abilities related to the fine art of stain removal and fabric restoration were honed in his teens, while working side by side with his father as the Hagopian & Sons reputation in the Detroit community was forming. By the 1960s and 70’s Hagopian had become known nationally for his personal ability to meticulously restore the most difficult challenges on carpets, tapestries and fabrics of all kinds.
Steve was born in Detroit in 1928 to Cariana (Donikian) and Haroutun Hagopian, Armenian Genocide survivors who left Istanbul, Turkey to settle in Detroit and start a new life, raising five children. In the family of the Hagopian siblings, Stephen was the oldest of the three brothers, extremely proud of his Armenian heritage and always fluent in the language.
He graduated from Cass Technical High School in the top of his class and went on to the University of Michigan to achieve a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1951.