WATERTOWN — Robert Kaprielian of Watertown, passed away on July 25 with his family at his side. He was 89.
She was the husband of the late Landyce (Torrance) Kaprielian), father of Rachel Kaprielian Feloney and her husband Paul, and Myra Ovoian and her husband Bill, all of Watertown. He was also “Papa” to grandchildren William Robert Gannon and Calvin and Drew Ovoian and the brother-in-law of Ilse Kaprielian of Belmont.
Bob was born and raised in Watertown, a first -generation son of Armenian parents who like many, chose to live and raise their children in Watertown among their extended family and rooted community. As a young boy, he remembered the impact of the second World War and the ways in which it touched everyone in his hometown, including the deployment of his older brother Gil to the South Pacific when he was eight. Together with his many friends — many of whom he held throughout his life — they would play pickup games in the fields of the East End and watch the latest newsreels at the Coolidge Theater.
He played football and basketball at Watertown High School and earned a college scholarship to play football at Northeastern University. He graduated in 1958 and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and attended flight school. He met and married Landyce Torrance and the two of them lived in Ozark, Ala., while he was serving his duty and later moved to Fresno, Calif., where they had the time of their lives seeing and discovering the West Coast. In 1962, they moved to Mount Auburn Street where they raised their family and would live the rest of their lives.
Bob worked in business management at a number of firms, beginning with Honeywell, Inc. where he took the job so that he could see and travel the country. He loved to see and experience places and sites throughout the country and the world, yet his favorite place anywhere was always Watertown. He delighted in starting and stewarding the Watertown High School Athletic Hall of Fame where scores of former WHS athletes would be regaled and celebrated. He hosted the Watertown cable show “A Veterans Story” where he got to interview some of his heroes, local men who served their country with distinction. He also hosted shows where he interviewed local Watertown candidates running for office as well as “It Was a Very Good Year” which told stories of past days in Watertown. As a former athlete, Bob was a fixture at the Mount Auburn Club where made a whole new group of friends and was considered the club’s “Mayor” and served a number of years as boxing judge with US Boxing. Throughout his whole life, he spent much time with his cadre of friends, many of whom he had grown up with and cherished all his life.
Above all, Bob loved and was devoted to his family. He was so proud of his daughters, Rachel and Myra, and was fully invested in their lives and relationships. He showed up for everything: their dance recitals (which he suffered through); their sports games (they were NOT athletes); town parades; Rachel’s many political events and crossed the country to see Myra in Arizona and California and being her “Uber” into work every morning.
