LIVER TRANSPLANT SPURS NATIONAL KNIGHTS OF VARTAN COMMANDER
By Tom Vartabedian
ver-transplant-spurs-national-knights-of-vartan-co mmander/
April 3, 2009
Haig Deranian is truly a knight in shining armor.
Ten years ago, he was at death’s door before a liver transplant saved
his life. A donor stepped forward when the situation became critical
and gave him a new lease.
Today, he’s the national commander of the Knights of Vartan,
an organization that predates itself back to 451 AD when Vartan
Mamigonian led the surge that preserved Christianity for all Armenians.
Deranian doesn’t carry a sword. He has no shield. His only weapon is
the Armenian spirit and he wears it proudly.
"It was not my time and I was blessed by God," he says of the
transplant. "God decided whether I would live or die. I have a great
deal of faith which was part of my upbringing."
Little is revealed about his life-or-death struggle back a decade
ago, just the way Deranian would prefer. He’s not an individualist
and wants no purple heart for his survival. He puts his organization
before himself.
"I don’t know who the donor was," he says. "There’s no question organ
transplantation is a miracle in medicine."
But talk Knights of Vartan and Deranian is all action. If he did have
a sword, it would be Excalibur. And if this Knight ever came alive,
well, it’s as close to a Robin Hood scenario as you can get.
His Sherwood Forest is the Armenian Diaspora. The mission is equality
among all Armenians everywhere.
"Armenians need to unite with one voice," he points out. "I believe
the Knights of Vartan is the perfect organization that can cross all
lines to get things done. My involvement and ultimate success are
more of a team effort. I might be in the right place at the right
time and was always trying to make a difference with my life."
My late pastor, Rev. Vartan Kassabian, was a Knight as well as a
Gomideh member, the leader of a church as well as an entertainer. He
was the consummate Armenian who would rob Peter to pay Paul.
The former chairman of our Armenian National Committee of Merrimack
Valley is another Knight. When Joe Dagdigian isn’t attending meetings,
he’s involved with the Lowell Gomideh as well as the Cosmic Ray
Division in Armenia. In fact, he joined the Knights to gain added
clout for the CRD.
Deranian is also trying to make a difference. With a membership that
has 23 lodges throughout the United States and Canada, along with
a body of more than 3,000 Knights and Daughters, it’s Deranian who
remains the catalyst.
The 67-year-old has been a Watertown resident for the past 55 years
where he attended local schools before graduating from Northeastern
University. He has a wife (Donna Pino) and three children (Gregory,
Jason, and Jennifer) and is president/CEO of a company called Jad
Imports, an importer of lighting products, and Deran Lamp & Shade
Company, a manufacturer and distributor of portable lighting products.
He’s taught Sunday School at St. James Church in Watertown since
1997 and has a list of credentials the length of your arm with the
Knights of Vartan. No need to repeat everything; suffice it to say,
he’s made the Armenian community his priority.
Two years ago, Deranian chaired the New England Pontifical visit of
His Holiness Karekin II, Catholicos of all Armenians.
He’s helped deliver school supplies to destitute schoolchildren
in Armenia, promoted hygiene and sanitation in Armenia, sponsored
and renovated schools, and distributed scholarships. Two of my AYF
children were K of V recipients.
According to one report, $19 million has gone to school projects
in Armenia. For every dollar the brotherhood raises, the World Bank
matches $9.
This July, the city of Boston will be converted into a metropolis
for Knights from every corner of the country. More than 400 members
are expected to converge at the Westin Copley from July 1-5.
Had he been alive, Der Vartan would have played a key role as commander
of the Arakadz Lodge of Merrimack Valley. In the entire history of
this organization, no cleric has ever assumed such a leading role
and the reason why he joined runs parallel with others who’ve taken
an initiative.
They wanted to make a difference.
"We believe that the preservation of our racial, religious,
and cultural heritage is our sacred obligation," Deranian points
out. "However we achieve that is up to us."
Haig Deranian is alive today because he had God on his side. He’ll
never dispute that. Nor will he ever contradict the work of his
organization, much less the interaction of Armenians everywhere,
regardless of political or fraternal affiliation.
For that, he is to be admired.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
