Jirair Stepanian, a man of unquestionable integrity, humility and and generosity, passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 27. He was born in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem, a hundred yards from the Syriac church of St Mark, one-time depository of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Arshag Garabed Markarian passed away on August 5, 2013 at the age of 90 in Ventura CA. Born April 27, 1923 in Jerusalem to Garabed Markarian and Anna Kaplanian, Arshag moved to the United States in 1969 and was a resident of Ventura, California since 1975. Arshag attended Collège des Frères in Jerusalem after which he joined the family business at a young age. Katch Julian Adrian was born on April 28, 1933 in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, when I was eight. His given name was ‘Khatchadour,’ which in Armenian means “cross-given” or “cross-giver,” but was and is popularly called “Khatcho: by relatives and Armenian friends. Our parents were Apraham Kevorkian and Elizabeth Sahakian, and our grandparents were Khatchadour Nersessian and Kevork Sahakian respectively. Araksi Kaplanian had come to live in Australia, but had left her heart in Jerusalem. And her lifelong wish was to return there, to die there and be buried near her husband. Her wish was not granted and she died in an age care home in Sydney. Her early upbringing in Alexandria, Egypt, provided her with a lasting love of the French language - she loved reading books in French, with a particular penchant for romances. Raffi Hagopian, that wonderful human being with a heart as large as the world, is no longer with us. He left us last night, without any warning, without any last farewells. Like a candle that goes out in the wind. Like a leaf blown away by a gust.Or a song that is unfinished here. But they will listen to the rest of your song, Raffi, in the other world. Araksi Jambazian, wife of Garo Jambazian and sister of Aram Khatchadourian, has passed away in Jerusalem, after a lengthy illness. She leaves behind two daughters and one son. People remember her as a very gentle human being, always with a smile on her face. Her children have inherited her charm. He stood ten feet tall, a dynamic, charismatic figure: Antranig Bakerjian symbolized the enduring, fighting soul of the kaghakatsi Armenian. He had the carriage of those in command of the situation, and the courage to stand up to the challenge.With his personal pulling power, he molded the kaghakatsi youth into a credible and creditable team, the 14th Massis Scouts, enthusing and encouraging, and pushing where and when needed. The kaghakatsi Armenian community in Sydney has lost one of its most beautiful pillars of society: Angelle Benneian, a charming, sophisticated lady with the very loving nature. Angelle was born in Jerusalem in 1927, the seventh of nine children to Sahag and Nazouhie Nercessian. She was married, at the young age of only 14, to Kevork Benneian, and bore him 5 children. Arpine’ Yaghlian Khatchadourian was born in the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Palestine, on June 30, 1925, of parents fortunate to escape the Armenian Genocide in Turkey. Her father, Dr. Nazaret Yaghlian, studied Medicine in Istanbul. During the First World War was able to join the British Army fighting the Ottomans, entering Jerusalem with General Allemby’s army. This is the world of Lida Hagopian, born on June 22, 1966 in the city of Jerusalem, sacred to the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism. It is a world of love and compassion, beauty, music and faith. Along the cobblestoned, winding alleys of the Old City, and in its unique ambiance of spirituality, she walked in the footsteps of the great prophets.