By Aram Arkun
Mirror-Spectator Staff
WATERTOWN – The Society of Istanbul Armenians of Boston held a Mother’s Day dinner celebration on May 14 at the Armenian General Benevolent Union center in Watertown honoring Vosgi Dagdelen of New York as “mother of the year.” Dagdelen, a teacher and administrator both in Istanbul and later New York, came with her family to Boston for the occasion. Dr. Aida Minasyan Yavshayan served as the master of ceremonies. She is both an advisor to the board of the Society and co-chair of the evening’s event. Arto Kurkjian, vice president of the Society, served as the other co-chair. Approximately 60 people were in attendance from Boston, New York and other areas.
Dagdelen was born in Sepasdia as Vosgi Marzvanian but moved with her parents to Istanbul as a four year old. She graduated Esayan School in 1939 and Getronagan High School in 1942. She began teaching at the Esayan School while studying French at Istanbul University for two years.
She taught 35 years at Esayan and also became its general office administrator, with financial and educational responsibilities. In 1955 she married Dr. Vahrij Dagdelen and had a daughter, Aghavni-Rita. She became a member of the executive of the Teachers Association of Istanbul and of the Esayan and Getronagan Alumni Associations there.
Dagdelen retired in January 1979 and moved to New York, where she taught the seventh-grade class for ten more years at the Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School in Bayside. During this period of time she visited Yerevan in order to follow a course for diasporan Armenian teachers organized by Soviet Armenia’s Committee for Relations with the Diaspora.
