FRESNO — For high school birthdays, graduation parties, engagements, showers, and weddings, my beloved mother, Alice Vartanian, and her best friends, Mary Hokokian, Lynne Gregorian, and Gladys Jamgotchian always came together at each of their homes to prepare large trays of mouth-watering yalanchi (grape leaves), desserts, and other dishes to serve at these special events. These talented ladies were the closest friends and confidants for over 50 years in Fresno and enjoyed making many memorable dishes for family events and celebrations throughout their lives.

For over 50 years, these ladies volunteered at our church (the historic Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church located in downtown Fresno) making gata, choreg, simit, kufta, yalanchi and other specialties for the church dinners, bazaars, and picnics held throughout the year. During their lives, they shared major milestones together – they were devoted daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. They were proud first-generation Armenian women of great character and substance who deserve to always be remembered and cherished – they dedicated their lives to their husbands, children, families, their church, and their dearest friends.

Lynne (Aslanian) Gregorian was born on November 4, 1923, in Fresno to Jack and Lousaper Aslanian. Lynne was a longtime member of the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church and Trinity (now Ladies’) Guild in Fresno. Her immigrant parents were from Ourfa (Urfa), Turkey, and were survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

Her obituary reads, “She was born in the Greatest Generation. Her kind, caring, and generous soul will be dearly missed. She was preceded in death by the love of her life, her beloved husband, Woodrow (Woody) Gregorian; brother, Harry Aslanian; and her parents. She was survived by her sons; Ronald and Richard; and grandson, Dakota Lyn.”

Lynne and Woodrow Gregorian on their wedding day, December 21, 1946, in Fresno, CALynne’s husband owned Woody’s Mobil Station at Tulare and O Streets in Fresno for 35 years after which he served for 20 years as the plant manager at Gregor Boats. He served in the United States Army Aviation Engineer Corp in WWII in the Southwest Pacific. Woody and Lynne were married for 53 years. Lynne passed away on December 19, 2011.