‘Business Life’ publisher John Krikorian dead at 80

John Krikorian, publisher of Business Life magazine and for many years a leader in the community, died early Saturday morning from heart failure. He was 80 years old.

In late 2011, Krikorian suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed at a public ceremony hosted by the Glendale Fire Department. He was there to accept a “Service Above Self” award for community involvement.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to perform CPR and Krikorian recovered.

“Our family is so grateful for what the Glendale Fire Department was able to do for this extra year and a half of life,” said his son, Glendale Unified School Board member Greg Krikorian.

John Krikorian was born in Hartford, Conn., on Aug. 24, 1932, to parents orphaned by the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

From 1951 through 1953, he served as a supply sergeant for the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean War.

He married his wife, Elsie, in 1956, moving the family to Glendale in 1989.

He leaves behind his wife, their six sons, and two daughters and 23 grandchildren.

Greg Krikorian said his father was “always giving to everybody else.

“Every lesson he taught us, we carry on with us,” he said. “It was always country and community first.”

John Krikorian would establish himself as a community leader in Glendale and beyond the city’s borders.

He served on the Los Angeles County Small Business Commission and the Glendale Adventist Medical Center Advisory Council, and dedicated time to the Pasadena Special Olympics, among many other organizations. He served as publisher of Business Life magazine for the past 23 years.

Former Glendale Mayor Carl Raggio said the loss of Krikorian is a loss for the entire city.

“Glendale’s going to miss him terribly,” Raggio said. “He was an example of dedication to a city.”

Former Glendale PTA Council President Elizabeth Manasserian was befriended by Krikorian in 2000 as a young mother establishing her real estate business.

“From the very first day I met John he welcomed me with an open arm and he basically became like a guiding light — someone that’s there all the time for you,” she said.

Manasserian said she considered him a “gentle giant” with loving heart he expressed for everyone he met.

“God has put us on the Earth to serve others and [John] taught us that with his life,” she said.

Plans for Krikorian’s memorial are pending.

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Follow Kelly Corrigan on Twitter: @kellymcorrigan.