In Memoriam: Armen Aroyan

LOS ANGELES — The USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies remembers the extraordinary life of Armen Aroyan, who passed away on January 13, 2026. Armen was a USC alumnus and a longtime friend and benefactor of the Institute.

Born in 1943 in Cairo, Egypt, Armen was one of four children, alongside his siblings Nubar, Zabel, and Hasmig. His parents, Albert and Lucy Aroyan, both traced their roots to the region surrounding Aintab.

Armen emigrated to the United States in 1962, settling in Pasadena, California. He earned degrees in engineering from the University of Southern California and built a distinguished career in the field. Deeply devoted to his faith and community, Armen was actively involved in the Armenian Cilicia Congregational Church—the oldest Armenian church in Pasadena—where he served as choir director for approximately 40 years. A lifelong learner with a deep curiosity, he was also an avid collector and preserver of the Protestant Armenian musical tradition.

Travel was one of Armen’s greatest passions. Through both personal opportunities and professional assignments, he journeyed extensively around the world. Wherever he traveled, he made a point to seek out and connect with local Armenian communities. These experiences ultimately led him back to his ancestral homeland.

A brief but transformative visit to Istanbul in 1984 challenged long-held perceptions and sparked a deeper exploration of historic Armenian lands. Beginning in 1987, Armen traveled repeatedly to provincial Turkey, returning in 1988 and 1989. After each journey, he organized slide presentations to share his observations and experiences with the Armenian community in Los Angeles.

In 1991, Armen led his first group trip to Eastern Turkey with seven participants. The journey included visits to historic Armenian sites and meetings with local Armenians still living in the region. Armen carefully curated each trip based on the ancestral origins of the participants, helping them reconnect with their villages and hometowns. Many of those who traveled with him were scholars, whose firsthand experiences later informed their academic research and publications.

Armen frequently visited his grandfather’s village of Jibin en route to Aintab and made countless pilgrimages to the ruins of Ani. Over a span of 25 years, from 1991 to 2016, he organized approximately 100 trips across Turkey, traveling with nearly 1,450 participants—whom he affectionately referred to as “pilgrims.” He meticulously documented nearly every journey on videotape.

Throughout his travels, Armen made it a priority to meet and interview the region’s dwindling Armenian population—a task that became increasingly difficult with time. Local Armenians often guided him and his pilgrims from one Armenian home or shop to another, fostering relationships that deepened with each return visit.

In 2018, Armen donated approximately 400 videotapes from these journeys to the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies for digitization, with the goal of making them accessible for research and education. In 2025, following the discovery of additional tapes, the digitization process was completed, and integration of the collection into the USC Digital Library began.

The resulting Armen Aroyan Collection is a singular contribution to the study of inherited memory and diasporic return. It offers rare visual documentation of historical sites where traces of Armenian life and presence continue to endure. The Institute also conducted a brief oral history interview with Armen, now preserved as part of the California History Through Armenian Experiences archive.

Armen’s life’s work reconnected generations to their ancestral roots and left an enduring legacy of memory, preservation, and belonging. The Institute was deeply fortunate to have such an exceptional partner. Armen remained profoundly connected to Armenian Studies and his faith until the very end. The USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies honors his extraordinary character and generosity and is proud to steward this vital part of his legacy.