Helen & Papken Mugrditchian Obituary (1922

Helen Irene Wadsworth Mugrditchian June 8 1922 - Sept 11 2023 Helen Irene Wadsworth was born in Ogden, Utah on June 8, 1922, to William and Afton Wadsworth. After graduating from high school, she earned a scholarship to Utah State University where she studied Home Economics and Nutrition. In 1945, having completed her internship in Dietetics at the New York Hospital (Cornell), she sailed on the transatlantic liner, the MS Gripsholm, to the Middle East to work in Beirut at the post-WWII American University Hospital, today the American University of Beirut Medical Center. She had a lifelong calling to adventure and learning. She fully embraced a foreign culture and language. In 1951, Helen married Dr. Papken S. Mugrditchian, a prominent thoracic surgeon, and together they raised six daughters. In 1971, she earned a Master of Science degree in Agriculture and Food Sciences from AUB. She became Director of the Dietary Department at the AUBMC in 1976 and established the first Dietetics Internship program in the Middle East in 1983. The program remains accredited to this day and has graduated Registered Dietitians practicing in Lebanon, the region, and beyond. We now look back and wonder how our mother managed to never make us feel the demands of her career. She was always there for us: she prepared our lunch boxes every morning, drove us to music and ballet lessons, girl scouts, and attended all our swim meets and recitals. We always had clean, pressed clothes, which she had sewn - she would stay up all night to make that special dress! Our mother remained in Lebanon during most of the difficult civil war years. When our father passed away in 1985, she continued to manage the Dietary Services at the AUBMC until she retired in 1987, after which she joined her daughters in the United States. She spent the next 36 years helping raise her grandchildren, reconnecting with her US family, traveling with her daughters, serving at her church, writing about her experiences, and reveling in a newfound love of painting. Mom passed away in New York in 2023, at the young age of 101. Mom would lovingly remember in fine detail her early years in Utah and had many anecdotes about her childhood and youth. It is fitting for her to be back at her first home. Papken Stephan Mugrditchian October 12 1910 - May 26 1985 Papken Stephan Mugrditchian was born to Stephan Hagop Mugrditchian and Melineh (nee Topalian) on October 12, 1910, in Marash, Turkey. His family, which included his sister Armenouhi and brother Garabed, settled in Beirut, Lebanon following the deportation of Armenians from Turkey. Papken completed his studies in French, English, and Arabic. He went to Medical School at the American University of Beirut and became a prominent and dedicated thoracic surgeon. There he met his wife, Helen Wadsworth and together they created our family. As a physician, he treated lung cancer and tuberculosis long before antibiotics became available. He ran the TB Sanatorium in Azounieh in the wooded mountains of Lebanon with clean, healthy air. He performed innovative surgeries and treated patients equally from all over the greater Middle East, from royalty to those with few means, the latter pro-bono. The many he cured included an accomplished opera singer who continued to perform with one remaining lung! Papken cared deeply for his adoptive country. He was a Rotarian and involved in many committees in his community, church, and school boards. He received the highest honor "L'Ordre des Cedres" from the President of Lebanon. He continued practicing through the Civil War in Lebanon, always ready to operate on the sick and the injured regardless of affiliation. His interests went beyond medicine. He played several musical instruments, liked to travel, and discover new places, avidly followed advances in science and engineering. He participated in sports, from horseback riding, snow and water skiing, sailing and fishing, to long-distance running - barefoot at first - and calisthenics. He hiked every mountain in Lebanon. Long before it was universally recognized, he believed exercise to be paramount to good health. His love of nature extended to tending a fruitful orchard which he created on a rocky mountainside. We feel his greatest accomplishment was as a hands-on parent and a role model for his six daughters, making sure that we strove to excel in our studies, music, and sports. Always in partnership with Helen. Although our father left us much too soon, his values were deeply instilled in us. Our mother carried on his legacy for us and her grandchildren throughout the remainder of her years on this earth. A Graveside Service will be held Saturday, June 1st, 2024 at 11:00 am, for Helen and Papkin at the Hooper City Cemetery, 5301 South 6300 West, Hooper UT 84315. Following the service, family and friends are invited to join us for a buffet lunch and refreshments at Hooper 3rd Ward Church House, 5601 South 6100 West, Hooper, UT 84315