Obituary H. KENNETH NORIAN
H. Kenneth Norian of Beverly Hills, CA passed away on August 25, 2026. He was born in 1933 in New Jersey to Siran and Harry Norian, Armenian immigrants whose families came from Aintab, Turkey.
Ken attended Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, New Jersey, where he served as Student Body President.
He went on to Yale University, where he serve as Business Manager of the Yale Daily News.
Following Yale, Ken served as a First Lieutenant in the United States Army Artillery. After completing his military service, Ken partnered with his brother to establish a real estate development company, where they built custom homes in northern New Jersey.
In 1963, Ken married Cynthia Dickranian. Two years later, the couple moved to California.
For 19 years, Ken served as President of Premier Market of Beverly Hills.
Ken served as Treasurer of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce and was a Founding Director of the Beverly Hills Education Foundation. For 11 years, he served as an Administrative Appellate Law Judge through the California State Bar Court, which handles attorney discipline matters under the jurisdiction of the California Supreme Court. He continued his service to the legal community as a volunteer lay arbitrator, helping resolve attorney-client fee disputes for the State Bar of California.
Ken served as a Fellow Trustee of the Armenian Assembly of America since its inception. He was also a devoted benefactor of the Armenian Church of North America, Western Diocese, and a forty-year Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Ken strongly supported the election campaigns of Governor George Deukmejian.
Ken and Cindy were the parents of four children: Thomas Archer; Timothy Katcher and his wife, PJ; John Mathew and his wife, Gia; and their daughter, Cathleen Caroun. They had eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, September 3rd at St. James Armenian Apostolic Church at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Armenian Assembly of America, The Western Diocese Camp Endowment Fund, or The St. James Armenian Apostolic Church of Los Angeles Memorial Fund.
