Here is a brief overview of the life of Sarah (Siran) Mezadourian Messirian: Born around December 9, 1909 (her birthdate varies on different documents) in Sivas, Turkey. She survived the Armenian Genocide in 1915, in which her three older brothers were arrested one day and shot the next. After being separated from and then reunited with her family, they moved to Marseille, France. With her sister, she came to New York City in1923, the first two of her family to emigrate. She lived in the Bronx while working as a seamstress, taking the subway to work each day. After her father died in 1938, she married Jack, a fellow genocide survivor who had an eye for the ladies and liked to gamble, who moved her to Richmond, Virginia. They opened a restaurant called Jack’s Fine Foods. She had two daughters, my mother, Suzanne, and my aunt, Sonia. The family moved to Los Angeles in 1953. Jack died three months later, so Sarah became a single mom in the 50’s. She opened her own clothing factory in Watts, with Calvin Kline being a client. She sold the factory in the early 70’s. She was a fantastic cook, making amazing meals in her ktichen. She was a wonderful grandmother. She liked to laugh. My favorite quote of hers (said slowly with an Armenian accent) “This country is a big soup. Oof!”