WESTCHESTER, Calif. — Sossy Chalian Akatcherian passed away on June 15. She was predeceased by her husband, Khatchik.
Sossy Chalian was born on January 2, 1941 in Tripoli, Lebanon to her parents Dikran and Jannette Chalian. She was the eldest of four children and loved her siblings: Hovsep Chalian, Sebouh Chalian and Shoghig Chalian Tarpinian.
She attended Nubarian Varjaran Elementary School and American Tripoli Girls’ High School, where she was an avid ping pong player in the Armenian Club and a member of the Armenian Youth Organization Homenetmen.
In 1960, the Chalian Family moved to Beirut, Lebanon. There, she taught English Literature to 10th and 11th graders at Achenag College in Ashrefieh. She had a love for art and clothing design. When she was only 15 years old, she took tailoring lessons and began to flourish in fashion design. She won first place in a local designing competition for a design she made using curtain materials from her home. She continued her passion for designing and sewing by making beautiful clothes for herself, her sister, mother and eventually her own children and grand-daughters.
At 19, she travelled with a dance group to Dhour Shwear in Lebanon and participated in a Tango Dance competition, where she won first place. Her love for music, dance, art, and design fostered a passion for life she maintained with her exuberant, vivacious spirit.
She later married Khatchik Akatcherian in 1962 and became a mother to three children: Betty, Heratch and Maral. Due to the war in Lebanon, during the early 1970s, the family was forced to escape to the United States. The family eventually moved to Weehauken, NJ. She quickly became a loyal member of the Vartanats Church.
