Greg Sarkisian, owner of one of Denver’s oldest businesses, died of a heart attack at his Denver home on Feb. 15. He was 59.
Sarkisian ran Sarkisian’s, famous for its Oriental rugs and fine art, and a landmark building at 693 Speer Blvd.
Sarkisian’s was opened by his family in 1891 near the Brown Palace Hotel downtown. It later moved to East 12th Avenue and Pearl Street. After World War II, the store was moved to Speer.
At one time, the Sarkisians had three stores in Colorado.
Greg Sarkisian started working in the store as a kid and once laughed that the manager, the late Mary Holme, fired him after he complained about having to clean rugs.
He complained to his father, the late Harold Medill Sarkisian, whose reply was, “Cut the nonsense and do what Mary tells you,” according to a Denver Post story.
Greg Sarkisian and his wife, Lucie, “traveled the world” to buy rugs and art objects, she said, “but there is so much trouble in so many countries, we mostly buy in New York now.”
Greg Sarkisian had “unselfish generosity” that he didn’t usually tell people about, said a friend, Mark Sather of Denver.
He loved lacrosse and, with several others, founded “Junior Lacrosse” for schools and coached, said his wife. After the Columbine High School tragedy in 1999, the school’s lacrosse players were unable to get to their equipment because the entire school was declared a crime scene.
Sarkisian was one of several men who contacted equipment and uniform manufacturers, asking them to give to the team. They did. The men also also contacted FedEx, which shipped the uniforms and equipment here quickly, Sather said.
Armen Gregory Sarkisian was born in Denver on Feb. 18, 1951, and graduated from the New Mexico Military School. He earned an undergraduate degree in art history and business and a master’s in business from New York University’s Stern School of Business.
Before going into the family business, he was a grain trader, said Lucie Sarkisian.
His first marriage, to Carol Henderson, ended in divorce. They had four sons. He married Lucie Dodge on Dec. 27, 2003.
In addition to her, he is survived by his sons, Louis Tor Sarkisian and Haig Medill Sarkisian, both of Denver, and Stanley Armen Sarkisian and Philip Tigran Sarkisian, both of Newport Beach, Calif.
He was preceded in death by his brother Tor Sarkisian, who drowned in 1965.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
