Thomas Kasparian

Thomas Kasparian We Love You Dad Thomas Kasparian was born on January 13, 1929 in New York City, New York and passed away May 10, 2012 in Taylorsville, Utah. At age 16 he left the city for Tucson, Arizona where he graduated from Tucson High School. He joined the Army Air Force for the college tuition GI bill. After his term of service he attended the University of Arizona, graduating with a double major in German and Mathematics. As a graduation present to himself he hitchhiked across Europe. His first job was at a government installation in China Lake, California, where he began his career as a computer programmer. After a few years in the desert, he decided to move to Los Angeles to take a job with North American Aviation and where opportunities for finding a wife were better. One Friday night, while looking for something to do, he went to the Lawrence Welk s Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica. There he met Charmayne Bigler and the rest is history. They were married on November 5, 1955, later sealed in the Los Angeles Temple. After working for North American for several years, Tom joined IBM and moved to Poughkeepsie, New York. There he was part of a programming team who developed the first airline reservation system for American Airlines. After four and a half years in Poughkeepsie, he was transferred to Houston, Texas to assist with the space program. Eighteen months later he was transferred to Salt Lake City where he and his family have lived for forty-seven years. Tom was a convert and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was a faithful home teacher and priesthood holder and was always the first to volunteer when a service project was needed. He was generous with his money to the church, extended family and friends; his service and generosity were felt by many. His kids knew he was a softie and usually could talk him into getting whatever they wanted. He loved to play racquetball and ride his motorcycle, taking many trips around the United States and Mexico. He was a good fix-it-man. If cars or anything around the house needed fixing all it took was to ask him once and it would be done. He took pride in keeping his cars running and his house and yard looking good. Tom was very proud of his Armenian heritage and passed that pride on to his eight children: Dalene (Dave) Harris, Charisse Evans, Joel (Elizabeth), Kirk (Janice), Darren (Melissa), Audra, Rhett (Becky) and Jessica Gomez. He is survived by his children and his wife, Charmayne; his brother John (Connie);two nieces, twenty-six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. A public viewing will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 6-8:00 p.m. at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road. There will also be a viewing Wednesday morning an hour prior to the funeral services at 11:00 a.m. held at the LDS Chaped, 3045 W. Bernina Drive (5837 S.)(From 5400 south, go south on 3200 West to Bernina Drive.) Interment: Valley View Memorial Park, 4335 West 4100 South. For further highlights on Tom s life visit www.mcdougalfuneralhomes.com Life Sketch - Funeral for Thomas Kasparian - The following is taken from a talk in which my dad shared his life s experiences. I was born in New York City 83 years ago. My parents were Armenian immigrants, from Turkey, who had met and married after having come to America separately. I have a younger brother named John and had an older sister who died from Diphtheria at age 4. I never knew any of my grandparents. The Muslim Turks wanted a pure country free from conflictive religions so they began killing Christian Armenians, my grandparents included. From a young age, I suffered from asthma and endured moments when I thought I would die from not being able to breathe. Back then, doctors didn t have much in terms of treatment so I would sniff pepper that would cause me to sneeze and breathe again. My mother took me to a doctor who mentioned a dryer climate would help. I had heard of a former Armenian neighbor who had gone to Arizona so I decided to give it a try. At age 16, with money from my dad for a train ticket and a lunch from my mom, who didn t know where Arizona was, I moved to Tucson. Once I found the Armenian neighbor, a rug cleaner, he gave me a job and a place to stay. I worked for him and finished my last year of high school. This move was one of the first important decisions that affected my life. After graduation, I decided to tour Europe with the money I had saved, which was barely enough to cover the boat passage, so I resorted to hitch hiking and staying in youth hostels. On the passage over, I had met a minister s daughter who hitch hiked with me before heading to a mission in the French Alps. Because I could pass for almost any nationality I had good luck. After Europe, I made another important life decision. At that time the Armed Forces would pay your college education if you served 3 years in the military. I knew this would be the only way I could go to college so I signed up with the Air Force and became a mechanic crew chief in charge of ensuring proper airplane maintenance. On one occasion, I was in the cockpit of a jet taxiing along, testing the brakes I had just replaced, when I heard a big clatter. I looked back and realized I had left parts and the toolbox on the wing. I quickly jumped out of the jet and ran back to grab the tools when the charge officer came out and asked what was going on. He chewed me out for leaving the jet idling; thankfully not realizing what had happened. Because there was no war at the moment I spent most of my time in Biloxi, Mississippi and Detroit, Michigan. During this time, my asthma became severe and I had to be hospitalized several times. The Air Force offered to give me a medial discharge but I had to finish college so I didn t take it. Thankfully, I was able to make it through and attend the University of Arizona where I earned a double major in German and Mathematics and a minor in Physics. After graduation, I got a job at a government installation test site in the California desert. I was introduced to computers in their early stages and trained to be a computer programmer, the occupation that would become my life s work. After a couple of years I made another decision that would greatly impact my life. I decided to take a job with North American Aviation in El Segundo, California where opportunities to find a wife were better. One Friday night, while looking for something to do, I went to Lawrence Welk s Aragon Ballroom in Santa Monica. Lawrence Welk had a TV show during the week but on weekends he offered open dancing. Because I liked to dance and took dance lessons in the Air Force I went to give it a try. While looking around I saw a tall, slender girl standing by a post so I asked her to dance. After the dance, I asked if I could buy her a beer to which she quickly responded, I don t drink, but how about a 7Up. We ended the night getting acquainted over sodas and soon began dating. It wasn t long before I realized this was the girl I wanted to marry however, when we started talking marriage she told me she was Mormon and wanted to marry in the Mormon Church. Growing up I attended our Armenian Church and a Baptist church; the only experience I had with the Mormons was listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir while going to school in Tucson. I began taking the missionary lessons from a stake missionary and his wife whom I liked. They had a way of making the lessons interesting and could answer my questions. Jack West, a noted scholar, presented a series of convincing accounts proving the Book of Mormon by using the book itself, outside sources and archeological facts. His slides of ancient ruins and civilizations in South America opened the door to new ideas. By the time the series was over, I was firmly convinced that the Book of Mormon was true and that I wanted to be baptized. That was over 55 years ago. Shortly after I was baptized, Charmayne and I were married in a civil ceremony, sealed a year later in the Los Angeles Temple. After 3 years in California I accepted a job with IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. We moved back east with our two little girls and had two sons the 4 Hobbies:Loved to play racquetball, ride his motorcycle, and spending time with family and friendsOccupation:Computer Programmer