If anyone knows of a hotel in the immediate area of the hotel by the funeral home, it would be great to all stay at the same place and have a celebration of Hrach's life.

Deb

I feel priviledged to have known Hrach. He was a truly larger than life character and once sat with me at a diner at an MME and told me the history of the Armenian people and their treatment by the Turks.He was incredibly knowledgable on a wide range of subjects. He was always a gentleman and never spoke badly of anyone. He actually visited my shop in the UK once and he made friends over here too. He jokingly tried to 'buy' the girlfriend of a miniguy over here and this guy always reminds me of it when he and I meet.

What a sad time.

I can say, without reservation, that I've not known anyone else like him. We met up a few time, but if it had only been the first I wouldn't have forgotten him. We both drove Mokes from our respective corners of the U.S. to the first "national" Mini Meet in Denver in 1984; although, with a 1275 and side curtains, my drive was not only shorter, but somewhat more comfortable.

As mentioned in a previous response, check out "Minis Across America." That was a very reserved Hrach...so you can guess what he was like most of the time!

FYI: Hrach Chekijian

October 31, 2010

Chekijian, Hrach J , of Wenham, formerly of Watertown, suddenly October 31, 2010. Beloved son of Siran Chekijian and the late Hagop. Devoted brother of Cesar Chekijian and his wife Barbara, Araxi Postaljian and her husband Aram and Silva Aliksanian. Loving uncle of Jack, Derek, Scott, Anita, Lori and Berj. Funeral service at Saint Stephen's Armenian Church , 38 Elton Avenue , Watertown on Saturday November 6 at 12 noon. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours at the Aram Bedrosian Funeral Home, 558 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown on Friday from 4 - 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Saint Stephen's Armenian Church. Cemetery services are private.

Hrach was the best, great character, funny, a real nice guy, Very sad news to hear of his passing. God bless you Hrach !

Thank you for being you !  I'm sure you made everyone around you smile. 

Many of us will miss you !

Minis Forever

So many great memories from the hair raising ride he gave the girl from the hotel at MME in TN to going out to dinner at MME in Dayton, OH and seeing Hrach's moke in flames in a parking lot, to hearing about his cross country trip in his Moke (no side curtains in the pouring rain). He will be missed.

I've posted a small vid of Hrach from the 1984 East Meets West on You Tube. The res isn't the greatest, but his description of the truck driver's CB talk is. Enjoy.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR9FRCZH82Q

 

RIP Hrach.

I'll always remember him, bigger than life, as the man (running/driving around) behind the camera!

N J

Deb...I'll make contact with David and will pass the message to him.

Thanks Peter. Our hearts are broken and Hrach will be sorely missed. He was one of a kind - truely. Rich will be attending as will Doug Scribner. And, I'm sure, many others.

Does anyone know how to get ahold of Dave Lindsay in OH? If so, would you ask him to call Doug Scribner at Mini City?

Debbie

FYI: Hrach Chekijian October 31, 2010 Chekijian, Hrach J , of Wenham, formerly of Watertown, suddenly October 31, 2010. Beloved son of Siran Chekijian and the late Hagop. Devoted brother of Cesar Chekijian and his wife Barbara, Araxi Postaljian and her husband Aram and Silva Aliksanian. Loving uncle of Jack, Derek, Scott, Anita, Lori and Berj. Funeral service at Saint Stephen's Armenian Church , 38 Elton Avenue , Watertown on Saturday November 6 at 12 noon. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours at the Aram Bedrosian Funeral Home, 558 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown on Friday from 4 - 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Saint Stephen's Armenian Church. Cemetery services are pivate.

Hrach holding court at MME '95 in Washington DC

 

Hrach getting ready for the ultimate panorama (Moke'n style) run-around at MME '07 in Alcoa, TN.

 

Mission accomplished

 

MME 1987 before the run around. He was shy , never wanted to be the centre of attention!!!!!!!!!!!!! He will be missed.

A few years ago a gentleman from the UK came over here and made a little video called "Minis over America". One of the featured characters was Hrach. If you never met Hrach, that video will give you a chance to know the man.  He was the coach and leader, of mostly kids, of the "runaround" during the panoramic photo. As stated above, Hrach was famous for his pith helmet and jewelry, but was also famous for doing a deadlift of his Moke using the rear bumper. 

I first met Hrach at MME in Hampton VA in 1983 when he buzzed by me in his Moke which had a very large Union Jack waving behind it.

We were all younger then, but Harch Chekijian will be forever young.

meb

I'm shocked and sorry to hear of this. Hrach and I raced home from MME in Magog, he in his Moke and I in a 1293 pickup. As we wove around the other drivers going south, aproaching 100mph, I backed off. There was no stopping Hrach. Decked out in his jumpsuit and pith helmet, I was afraid he or I would end up at least off the road, and at worst dead.

He was a pisser. I had visited him in Boston once, and his hospitality was genuine and over the top. The drive in his moke, and lunch, with a tour of his garage all crammed into a short visit.

Hrach, you will be missed.

Yep, that's the pic of Hrach in the yellow jump suit and pith helmut- My wife and me standing beside him- 

He always did the run about behind the camera as it slowly panned the crowd, one year he fell and was frantically tryin g to get up and ended up doing a breast stroke whilst laying on the ground but did get to the end of the line just before the 1938 \Kodakm panoramic camera finished shooting-He was always the first to laugh at his mistakes- BUT WHEN HE WAS ON  A ROLL,talking in riddles, no human could understand him or even have a clue to what what was going on-

He always engaged me in conversation about the 1915 Armenian massacre by the Turks and as l had some knowledge of the events, he would always want to talk about it-

He was also a supersalesman in BOSTON of the new MINIS, and l was told, he was so erratic and flamboyant that the

Dealership, kept him off the floor and relagated to an upstairs office but he was still their top salesman-

The stories are legend..............................

BIG AL|

 

Wow, what a shock. all the kind words said about this man is all true. we all lost something today. RIP and God Bless.

When I first saw him at Magog at MME in 2000...I said whoa, here is some kind of character...

Then again, without the zany outfit in Elkford at MMEMW in 2004...

Everybody around him was smiling at another caper!

Rest in Peace!

Hrach was many things to me - we first met at MME in Atlanta, when his turbo blew something up, and it was being fixed in the parking lot. It was fun then, and always. He was a gentleman and a giver. He gave many things to many people and took great pleasure in it. It's nice to see and read so many fine memories of him here. That is my picture in the previous post - hope everyone enjoys it - from his garage/museum in the "new" house. Those of us who knew him are lucky to have known one of the kindest, funniest, most talented people ever. May our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.

Molly (Nolte) Smith's picture - thank you