Washington Post
May 28 2006
Obituary
Berg Paraghamian, 93, a former Martin Marietta aerospace engineer who
worked on NASA’s Apollo program in the 1960s, died of a stroke May 6
in the nursing unit at Maplewood Park Place in Bethesda.
Mr. Paraghamian worked for Martin Marietta in Baltimore and Denver
before being lent to NASA in 1960 to help with the planning of the
Apollo moon-landing program.
He spent two years at NASA, helping formulate the agency’s long-range
plan for space exploration.
Mr. Paraghamian returned to Martin Marietta, where he continued to
specialize in the design and development of aircraft and missiles. In
the 1950s, he helped develop the Titan I intercontinental ballistic
missile.
In 1970, he switched disciplines and became director of research and
development for the U.S. Maritime Administration in Washington. He
worked on the agency’s establishment of the National Maritime
Research Centers in Kings Point, N.Y., and Galveston, Tex. He retired
in 1980.
Mr. Paraghamian, a Bethesda resident, was born in Erzerum, Armenia.
He was a small child when his family, fleeing the Armenian genocide,
immigrated to the United States in 1915. He grew up in Belmont,
Mass., and graduated from Harvard University, where he also received
master’s degrees in education and engineering.
He served as a meteorologist with the Army Air Forces during World
War II and was stationed in Normandy after the D-Day invasion.
He was a moderator at Westmoreland Congregational United Church of
Christ in Bethesda and a member of the Cosmos Club.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Mary Paraghamian of Bethesda;
a son, James Berg Paragamian; and two grandchildren.