I hope you enjoyed today's meal; it was made possible by the tireless efforts of my dear friend Luci, my lifelong family friend (& sister) Marti, my brother Mitch, my friend Gary, my lifelong friend (& much younger than me sister) Pam, a lifelong family friend Debbie, Chef Brian, George, and many others.

I would like to recognize and thank:

Today's Celebrant of the Badarak & Karasoonk - Rev. Fr. A.K. Sarkis Petoyan pastor of St. Gregory Armenian Church, Pasadena; a lifelong friend; thank you for the honors you continue to bestow upon my Family; & Ytz. Talin.

Rev. Fr. Gomidas Zohrabian pastor of St. Gregory Armenian Church, Fowler; he graciously opened his Church to us and invited Fr. Sarkis to celebrate today's services; & Ytz. Ellen.

Rev. Fr. A.K. Kevork Arakelian pastor of St. Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Church, Reedley; a lifelong family friend; he participated in our wedding ceremony w/ my Father; & Ytz. Sandra.

Rev Fr. A.K. Vartan Kasparian pastor of St. Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Church, Reedley; a lifelong family friend; he also participated in our wedding ceremony w/ my Father; & Ytz. Dana.

Hayr Sourp Ashodd Khachadoorian pastor of Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Fresno; thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement at a very dark time in my life.

Chaplain Scott pastor of the CAH; thank you for your words of encouragement and prayers; and Lulu.

Dr John Garry; for his care for Elysa which allowed Elysa and I to have 37 years together -- which perhaps we may not have otherwise had.

Dr Raj Subramaniam, and his wife Suba; for his tireless personal attention and care for Elysa.

Justice Chuck Poochigian; for entrusting me with a career opportunity which allowed me to provide for and care for Elysa.

Judge Lisa Gamoian; for her unwavering hopefulness and reassurances.

Mr. Edward Kashian; for his steadfast guidance and friendship.

Thank you for attending today to celebrate our dear Elysa's life; the wonderful life she lived, the love she shared, and the beautiful difference she made in our lives.

I want to express my gratitude for the friendship and love you have shared with Elysa.  I thank each and every one of you! Each of you were special to Elysa in your own way.

As I stand before you, I still cannot believe that I am doing this. There will be some rough spots; so, please bear with me and you may have to help me.

The first dance at our wedding reception, was to a beautiful song by Bryan Adams, the lyrics go something like this:

Look into my eyes, and you will see what you mean to me;
Search your heart, search your soul, when you find me there, you'll search no more.
Look into my heart, you will find, there's nothing there to hide;
Take me as I am, take my life, I will give it all, I will sacrifice.
You know it's true, Everything I do, I will do it for you.

To honor our dear Elysa, on this day, flowers are being placed at Elysa's gravesite @ Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills, CA, and candles are being lit and prayers are being said in a church in Yerevan, Armenia, and in a church in Saint George, Utah, and in Fort Mojave, Arizona, and in a church in Mapleville, Rhode Island.  Earlier today, the Karasoonk (40th day) memorial service was celebrated at St. Gregory Armenian Church, Fowler, Ca, and also at Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Fresno, Ca.

Every day, I would say to Elysa – "I Love you today; I Loved you yesterday; and, I will Love you tomorrow!"

Elysa would say to me – "I Love You !!  For Always !!"

When someone asks me "How are you doing?" I tell them "I feel like my heart was violently ripped out of my chest." There are no words that are adequate to explain my feelings or that will ease the pain which is true and deep; there are no adequate answers to my many questions.

Simply, my life has been shattered; I am lost and overwhelmed.  Nothing seems the same. A part of me went with her, the day God called her home.

I walk alone . . . in my restless dreams.  I experience tears . . . in search of peace and strength. She left me with beautiful memories; . . . and, those memories sneak out of my eyes and roll down my cheeks. Elysa, I thank God for every remembrance of you.  It has been said, Grief is the price you pay for love.

Thank you to the CAH for their care of Elysa; please make your remembrances to the CAH in Memory of Elysa.  I intend to have a memorial to Elysa dedicated here, on these grounds, so thank you for your generosity in that regard.  Thank you Mitch, Luci, Dennis, Angela, Kathy, Nadar, the Nursing staff, and the Security detail. I pray that God rewards each them for their respective efforts and kindness toward Elysa.

Thank you to Farewell Funeral Services, once again.

I do not believe in mere coincidences.  I believe that our beginning, which was in the summer of 1986 (37 years ago), right here on these grounds; our marriage, which was in April 1994 (29 years ago); and the far too early ending of our deeply committed to each other Dream, which was in the summer of 2023 (37 years later), also right here on these same grounds; were all by Divine Provenance.

I stood by Elysa when my father baptized her; I stood by Elysa when my father married us; I stood by Elysa when Fr. Sarkis, my Padre, . . . . laid her to rest. She will always be by my side.

While Elysa was in the Hospital, I met a Chaplain and we spoke many times about Elysa's situation & circumstance, and about my faith being challenged; he gave me a Bible and he suggested that I read the Book of Job. Throughout the long nights that followed, I did exactly that; and I reported back to him, "Chaplain, I am Not Job." I told him that "if we were in a Courtroom, I would be objecting to the judge's ruling and I would take this ruling up on appeal, and I would win, because this ain't right, this ain't fair, and it is just the wrong decision."

The Chaplain looked at me and he quietly and humbly said, "well, He is God and you are Not; objection overruled and appeal denied."

Job: chapter 1 @ verse 21 – "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away; Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Elysa may be gone; but our memories of her and her Legacy will remain. Elysa was God's gift to me, and, I thank God for that gift! Elysa was a sweet child of God, she loved family dearly. She was pretty, she was classy, she was simply elegant. She had honor and integrity.

She was proper and eloquent; she had amazing grace, and a wild side; she was fun loving and creative; all of that and more, without being a show.  She was a Lady; she was my lady.

It has been said: Friends divide our sorrows and multiply our joys.

She was a caring friend; she was kind and compassionate; she would always reach out to her friends, on a regular basis, to make sure they were doing well, even when she was not.

Elysa was nothing but kindness and goodness in every way.

Elysa accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior . . . and the Holy Bible as her guide in all truths.

The Lord truly gave; He gave me a wife; He gave me a friend; He gave me a partner; and, He gave my parents another daughter.

I want to share with you a letter which was written by my parents, to Elysa.

Dearest daughter, Elysa:

How do we thank you? Really. We cannot find words to express our inner feelings of gratitude and appreciation.

You have been the most loving and caring child a parent can ask for. Your interest in our well-being and happiness, your desire to make us as comfortable as possible, spending your hard earned money to purchase various conveniences for our enjoyment, all of these, in addition, your phone calls are all overwhelming.

All we can say is THANK YOU from the depth of our hearts.  We pray that the good Lord will keep you under His protection always.  May He bless you abundantly and reward you for all your God-pleasing endeavors. Lovingly, Dad and Mom Altounian

He gave the Altounian family a wonderful gift. God gave me an encourager, both personally and professionally.

Often times, she would leave me notes or a poem:

"I know that sometimes life is rough
especially when you work and stuff,
but always know I Love you dear
and I will always be here.
When you are down and cannot cope
do not despair, don't give up hope,
at the end of the day, at the end of your fight
you can always come home to me at night.
I'll hug you and kiss you
With all of my heart,
No matter what the day brings
No one can tear us apart.
So do what you can
It may be helter skelter,
But when you come home
You'll have peace, love, rest and shelter."

In life I loved her dearly, in death I do the same.

She was so excitable and easily pleased; she did not require a fur coat or a fancy car; she did not require jewels or expensive things.

She never pushed and never contended. Her words were, if my Husband is all right, I'm alright.

So, as far a wife is concerned, I was one of the richest men on this earth.

The Lord giveth and the Lord hath taken away.

Before one of Elysa's medical procedures, the attending nurse sensed that Elysa was frightened and, speaking in Armenian, he said to her,

"Me Vakhnar, Asdvadz Hedut Eh; Do not be afraid, God is with you!"  I do not believe that was a mere coincidence either.

When Elysa's situation became most serious, I thanked her Doctor's for their services.

I went into a Chapel, again, to have another talk with God, I got down on my knees & I prayed; I said: "I want her back! You are the Great Physician, only you are able to do this miracle."

Repeatedly I said, "I want my wife back! and yet, . . . if there is something better for her, then my love for her says . . . I will let her go."

My prayer for Elysa became:  (from Numbers: chapter 6 @ verses 24-26)

"May the Lord Bless you & keep you.
May the Lord make His face shine on you & be gracious to you.
May the Lord turn His face toward you & bring you peace."

Lord in Your Mercy, hear my Prayers.

Ultimately, it was Not my will, but it was His will – that was done.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Throughout our life together, I always assured Elysa that she had nothing to fear - that for so long as she was with me she would be provided for and she would be safe; and, after that, she would surely be provided for and be safe with God.

Joshua: chapter 1 @ verse 9 – "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

When I was done praying, two words came to me "Trust Me"!

Initially, I thought Trust Me meant that He was going to heal Elysa as a living miracle.

Apparently, what He meant was – "I'm going to take her, but Trust Me.  Trust Me with Elysa out of your sight."

What happens to those He takes? What happens to those that the Lord does not heal?

When you can't see them; you can't feel them; you can't hear them; you can't kiss them; and you can't touch them; they are absent from the body but they are present with the Lord.

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven; the Kingdom of Heaven where there is no more sickness; no more pain; no more sorrow, no more tears, no more good-byes.

This world is nothing compared to the Glory awaiting those who Trust Him.

I could not see what God was doing; I do not understand His plan; and, I most certainly do not agree with it; but, I am Not going to give up on God.

I am going to stand right here in the middle of this unfathomable moment, no matter how painful it is, and I am going to Trust Him.

I am going to Trust that He is sitting on a throne; and that He has a purpose and a plan for Elysa.

Matthew: chapter 5 @ verse 8 – "Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God."

Elysa was a devoted and faithful handmaiden of the Lord; she was pure of heart.  I am going to Trust that, right now, Elysa is seeing the goodness of God.

I am Not going to stop believing that – no matter what!

Elysa was fashioned together and wonderfully made by God of the Heavens. She is now filled with joy and is present with the Lord and is surrounded by love, enfolded in prayer, encircled in caring and upheld in God's never-ending grace. She has inherited the Kingdom of Heaven as promised by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and she is bounded by His perfect peace and love.

She loved to sing and dance; on June 10th, 2023, she became God's newest Angel in Heaven; she is now singing and dancing with the Angels; my regret, we should have danced more!

Elysa, "It's Not over; I will see you again; not in your earthen vessel, but in your heavenly garments."  "I can't wait until we meet again; God willing!"

You will be forever loved and adored; until the end of time.  But for now, it is time to say good-bye.

Elysa, everything I did; I did it for you.

When Elysa would say to me – "I Love You !!  For Always !!"

I would say to Elysa -- "I Will Love You !! for Eternity!!"

Lovingly, Gregory L. Altounian

Some announcements before the closing Prayer:

Fowler Floral provided the flowers which were in Church today and the center pieces on your tables, which are Elysa's favorite flowers -- orange star-gazer lilies; please take them home and enjoy their beauty.

Please visit Farewell.com and share your favorite memories of Elysa and show your love for Elysa by writing in the Guest Book.

Thank you for attending and please feel free to stay and visit and share some stories, and have a beer.

May God Bless you and yours for your God-pleasing endeavors, now and always.