Dickie Boyajian

August 15, 1927 - October 25, 2007

Well done good and faithful servant" - Matthew 25:21.

Rev. Fr. Shnork Souin, Pastor

St. Mary Armenian Church

Livingston, New Jersey

 

Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through vice. But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 2 Peter 1:1-11 (New King James Version)

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Apostle Peter, speaks of Christian attributes, as necessary associates to and having there essence in faith.  In his exhortation he refers specifically to 7 which are identifiably connected with and derive from the faith of Christ.  Not only are they derived from faith, but are dependant on and progressively founded upon each other.

The apostle says; "add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love."

In all, we can clearly see the characteristics of the moral excellence of a true Christian.  A totality of Christian traits valued as being good, wholesome, pure and godly.   The sum of which comprise the conceptual opposite of vice which is inherently evil, deficient, and lacking in perfection. 

St. Peter, asserts that "through these you may be partakers of the divine nature." 

Dickie, a child of God, exemplified a life of faith, hope and love.  These 3 imputed to her at baptism, through grace establishing her unwavering and unconditional commitment to God gave her all 7 in abundance, without which she could not have fought the battle that she did over the past 28 months.  God daily empowered her with His divine blessings, adding to her "faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." Amazingly, courage with which she battled was what gave and will continually give her family strength.

Dickie remained firm in her faith to the very end of her life.  Like the apostle, she attained the "precious faith by the righteousness of God."   She lived her life with complete confidence and implicit trust in God not only in good times, but throughout her illness.  She fought the good fight and depended upon the promise that "God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  She lived her life with Christ so that she could end her life in Christ.

Her life was truly exemplary both in her devotion to God and her devotion to family.  She was equally proud and at home with her identity as an Armenian and as she was an American, always expressing faith, hope and love in all that she did.  She was a virtuous woman who not only expected the best from herself, but gave it.  Her love for God and her family was expressed in action, essentially illustrating the African proverb "when you pray, move your feet."  Her untiring service to her family, church and God was only outdone by her hospitality.  Always thinking of others, she went out of her way to see that people were cared for always putting the needs of others before herself.

She was a wonderful and much loved mother for her children, Linda, Pauly, Sandie and Larry.  Her life revolved around her grandchildren, Gregg, Pam, Kevin and Kerri.  She loved all equally and without measure and was always so quick and proud to inform me about the accomplishments and the blessings in the lives of her children and grandchildren.  Her surroundings were a pictorial reminder of the blessings that she enjoyed, with pictures of family decorating her walls, appliances and coffee tables.  I was especially privileged to share in her familial celebration on many occasions.  From day one, she welcomed me and my family into her home and into her family.  When she and marty moved from Grove Street in Montclair, among many other things, she gave our family the Christmas tree that was part of family tradition for many years.  Of course each Christmas when we put up our "Auntie Dickie Tree," we will say a little prayer and remember.

Proud of her Armenian Christian identity she placed great importance on passing that identity on to her grand children and great grandchildren.  She exemplified in so many ways the strong and determined Armenian woman--the uncompromising matriarch who beneath the never give up attitude possessed the gentle, loving and compassionate virtues of idealized motherhood.

Dickie had such a great respect for her elders and for the sacrifice of those who preceded her.  She would love to tell me the stories about the devotion of the clergy and the founding faithful who served this parish and gave everything to likewise dignify their service through her own untiring and selfless stewardship.

Her respect for those was made manifest early on in my ministry here when she accompanied me to those who were the eldest and the most infirm, arranging visits with me to the late Levon Takvorian, and Hovsep Tahmazian

Dickie's perseverance was never an excuse to forget the simple things in life.  She never enjoyed anything more in spite of her always hectic personal and social schedule, than to share in the breaking of bread with those she loved.  By example, how touched I was when she selflessly invited all the women to lunch at her Golf Club following another very successful fashion show, in order to show her appreciation for their hard work, even urging me to bring along my Dad who was visiting from out of town.   Of course the reality was that everyone worked so hard hand in hand toward the realization of successful events because of the outstanding leadership that she herself would show.

She has been a great friend, mother and supporter to me in my ministry at St. Mary in ways that go beyond explanation.  With her advice and her encouragement came love, respect and appreciation.  At times the pride with which she would introduce me to friends was almost embarrassing.  Some of you may know this but she was the chosen vessel through which God's call came to me in my pastorate at St. Mary.  It was through her association with Fr. Zaven Arzoumanian, as her "winter" pastor, that she was given my name and quickly forwarded it to the parish council of St. Mary.  I have always believed and continue to believe that my calling to serve St. Mary was by divine origin and providentially, Dickie served as the conduit toward that end. 

I loved Dickie and respected her very much.  Even during her illness, although I missed the opportunities to dialogue with her, I enjoyed every visit.  I believe, even when things got bad, that she loved to hear about what was going on in the life of her church.  When it came to prayer, her deprivation of speech seemed to matter little.  Her life of steady and regular church attendance, her familiarity with the liturgical life, the sounds and the practice of our church were so firmly established in the depth of her soul that those were never taken from her.  Unable to speak audibly, during prayer, almost miraculously, she would sing along to the words of our Christian hymnody.  Thank God, she eternally communicates with God from the depth of her heart.  What a great comfort for us to know that the words of praise were one thing that were never taken and resound eternally.

Today, after a long battle, she joins the ranks of the saints and the many faithful who preceded her.  Her rest is well deserved.  She is truly not dead, but sleeps.  Therefore, according to the Lord's command, we ought not weep like those who have no hope, but take solace in the example of her faith, her faith which was firmly founded in Christ, upon which her virtuous life bore fruit and led to life eternal.   Dear brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ, let us take Dickie's example to heart so that we might learn the valuable lessons of a virtuous life, putting our life, our faith and our love into action, placing our trust in the Lord above all things.

Let us take up the torch and serve God with devotion, and according to the apostle's command with a glorious and eternal promise, "being even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," Amen.