The Diocese
Posted: 04/02/2020
With heavy hearts, we inform the faithful of the Western Diocese of the passing of Charles Tateosian, a long-serving and devoted member of St. John Armenian Church of San Francisco.
Please find the obituary prepared by the Tateosian Family below, however, we call your attention to the following portion regarding arrangements.
A private graveside service will take place on April 8 at Massis Ararat Cemetery in Fresno, CA. To protect family and friends from the coronavirus, there will be no viewing and the service will be restricted to immediate family only. A memorial service will be held in the future when conditions allow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation to one of the following:
- Knights of Vartan Armenian School Support Project
c/o Gas System Engineering
PO Box 31233
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
- The William Saroyan Endowment for Armenian Studies at UC Berkeley
https://give.berkeley.edu/fund/?f=FW7520000
- St. John Armenian Apostolic Church 275 Olympia Way San Francisco, CA 94131
- Your favorite charity
Mr. Tateosian will be remembered by generations of St. John’s members for his unparalleled commitment to the Armenian Church, in San Francisco and beyond, and for his humble service. The prayers of our community are with his family during this difficult time. May our merciful Lord grant them comfort in their grief.
Obituary for Charles John Tateosian
Charles J. Tateosian of Walnut Creek, California was born in Reedley, California on July 21, 1922 and grew up on the family farm at the base of Mt. Campbell, later moving to Selma, California. The son of John and Rebecca Tateosian, Charlie was the second of three children. Charlie passed away on March 31, 2020 and was preceded in death by his parents and older sister Virginia Tateosian. Charlie is survived by his wife Mary Tateosian, sister Ruby Topoozian and her husband Joe of Selma, children Cathy Tateosian of Arcata,Lisa Tateosian of Oakland, and David Tateosian and his wife Mae Go and their son Harrison Tateosian of Martinez.
When World War II broke out in 1941, Charlie interrupted his college education and enlisted in the US Navy in 1942, serving as a Lieutenant (jg) first in the Atlantic and then the Pacific. After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1947 and joining the ranks of the Cal Bear Alumni, Charlie then began a 40 year career with Pacific Gas & Electric playing a key role in one of PG&E’s great endeavors - bringing natural gas from the Southwest and Canada to serve a growing California. After retiring in 1987 as the Manager of Gas Systems Design, Charlie started his second career as a consultant through Gas System Engineering. Charlie was a California Registered Professional Engineer (Mechanical) and served on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers B31.8 Code Committee for natural gas piping systems, retiring a few years ago as their longest serving member.
Charlie was heavily involved in the Bay Area and California Armenian community, serving on the Building Committee and Parish Council for St. John’s Armenian Apostolic Church in San Francisco, as well as the Western Diocese Diocesan Council and Foundation. Charlie was also very active in the Knights of Vartan, an Armenian fraternal organization, serving as Grand Commander as well as other roles.
In 1991, Armenia became a free and independent country again and Charlie with his wife Mary undertook many trips to Armenia to support the Knights and Daughters of Vartan school projects, the Bay Area Friends of Armenia soup kitchens, as well as advising on the development of Armenia’s own natural gas infrastructure.
In addition to travel to Armenia, Charlie and Mary traveled throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Japan, and South America. Charlie’s hobbies included photography, Armenian history, and technology.
A private graveside service will take place on April 8 at Massis Ararat Cemetery in Fresno, CA. To protect family and friends from the coronavirus, there will be no viewing and the service will be restricted to immediate family only. A memorial service will be held in the future when conditions allow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider a donation to one of the following:
-Knights of Vartan Armenian School Support Project
c/o Gas System Engineering
PO Box 31233
Walnut Creek, CA 94598
- The William Saroyan Endowment for Armenian Studies at UC Berkeley
https://give.berkeley.edu/fund/?f=FW7520000
- St. John Armenian Apostolic Church 275 Olympia Way San Francisco, CA 94131
- Your favorite charity.
