WATERTOWN — Ruby (Chorebanian) Baboian passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on October 5, at the age of 97.
Born Yeranouhi Yakout Chorebanian in Newburyport, Mass., on December 16, 1926, to the late Arakel and Arousiag (Habashian) Chorebanian, she changed her name to Ruby as it was easier to pronounce.
Ruby moved numerous times in her life from Newburyport to Lynn, to the South End of Boston, to South Boston, back to Lynn, and finally to Watertown when she married the late Dr. Jacob C. Baboian of Watertown.
Ruby graduated from South Boston High in 1944, attended secretarial school and worked as a secretary for George T. Johnson Company for many years. When she married Dr. Jake, she managed his optometry practice until his retirement. One of her first, and favorite, jobs was working at the original Jordan Marsh store in downtown Boston.
Ruby loved to dance, especially the jitterbug, and dreamed of becoming a dancer, but her father advised her that “nice girls don’t dance on the stage.”
Ruby grew up attending Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church when it was on Shawmut Avenue in Boston. After marrying Jake, she became deeply involved in the Armenian Protestant churches in Watertown and Belmont, singing in the choir, and advising the youth fellowship. A tireless worker, organizing youth trips and conferences, the door to her home was always open to her “kids.”
