WALTHAM, Mass. — Janet Acopian Yegumians, passed away peacefully at the age of 83, with her daughters by her side, at her home on October 8, 2023.
Her spirit was extraordinary in that although she suffered great personal losses at a very young age, she rose to meet life’s challenges with vigor and enthusiasm. She often was heard telling her daughters, how blessed she felt that she was granted every wish she had ever made. However, anyone who knew Janet, knows that those wishes were not granted — they were earned through her drive, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Among her many valuable life-lessons were: success is solely dependent on your confidence; a woman’s place is everywhere; be selective with your friends and commitments; gossip is a distraction best avoided; in the face of adversity, lead with grace; a soft-boiled egg and a cup of tea daily will sustain you and a dry martini in the evening will reward you.
Janet, the only child of Pepron Nazarian and Garegin Acopian, was born in Tehran, Iran and attended the Armenian Mariamian Elementary and Secondary School and continued her studies at the University of Tehran. She married her beloved “Alfie” (Alfred Yegumians) at 22 in 1962 and had two daughters.
She worked for Iran’s Ministry of Planning in Tehran until her departure in 1976 and worked on the planning team charged with executing the international “Celebration of the 2,500th Anniversary of the Founding of The Persian Empire” (Jashnehaye Shahenshahi). Simultaneously, she opened and operated JanMari Maison, a shop specializing in evening-wear, followed by TinTin Boutique which imported European children’s clothing.
The couple’s determination early-on to ensure a life of opportunity for their daughters, drove their family’s decision to leave Iran in 1976 and they, along with her mother, settled in Boston in 1978.
