Gladys Andonian

WEST BOYLSTON-Gladys (Koharig) Andonian, 90, died peacefully on November 19, 2020 at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home in Worcester, MA. Gladys was born on May 25, 1930 in Newton Upper Falls, MA to Armenian immigrants, Jacob (Hagop) and Annie (Annig Mouradian) Madanjian.

Gladys was the youngest of seven children, brothers Richard Madanjian and Peter Madanjian, sisters Mary Kizirian, Sadie Garabedian, Sally Larnis, and her sole surviving sister, Alice Hachigian. The Madanjian family was embedded in an extended community of proud Armenians in the Boston and Worcester areas. Gladys attended Newton High School and graduated in 1948 as a member of the National Honor Society. She married Robert Andonian of Worcester in 1952, and they settled in West Boylston, MA where they raised their three children. She was a devoted wife to Robert (Bob) for 36 years until his death in 1988. She retired in 1988 as an accountant and supervisor for the State Department of Welfare in Boston, Medicare division, and remained in West Boylston, living independently in the same home for a total of 63 years.

Gladys was a member of the Armenian Church of Our Saviour in Worcester, MA where she had previously been a Sunday school teacher and the recording secretary of the Women's Guild. She was also a member of the West Boylston Women's Club. She was a lifetime member of the Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association and spent many summers with her family camping, fishing, clamming and delighting in adventure at the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown where many family memories were made. Gladys loved nature and the outdoors and she remained active in her later years, as long as she was physically able, and she persevered even when it was difficult for her. She had enjoyed cross-country skiing, foraging wild cranberries in the bogs at the Wachusett Reservoir in autumn, hiking the Mass Central Rail Trail in West Boylston, exploring the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens and visiting the beautiful beaches of Massachusetts and Maine in the summer with her family and friends. She maintained close friendships over the decades of her lifetime with people who were more like family and she took a very memorable trip to Armenia in 1989 to visit the ancient villages and historic sites with her dear Armenian friends.

Gladys was an avid cook and baker and loved nothing more than making her famous pies, cookies and Armenian Choreg for her family. At holidays, she filled an entire table with festive desserts. She taught her daughters how to cook Armenian specialties and they carry on this tradition. She was also an ardent bird watcher and always had her yard adorned with bird feeders and houses. She also enjoyed gardening in her backyard. In addition, she was a voracious reader and loved to have a book by her side and to read the newspaper daily from cover to cover. Gladys took great pride in her Armenian heritage and culture. Her keen mind and remarkable memory were impervious to the effects of aging, and she retained a wealth of knowledge about Armenian history, passing on what she knew to her family, including oral history, documents and artifacts. She was well known by all for her infinite kindness, thoughtfulness and devotion to the people she loved, as a wife, sister, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend. She helped her daughters raise their children when they were young and made a lasting impact on the lives of her grandchildren. She was an anchor for the family and she will be greatly missed by all.

Gladys was deeply loved by her family: daughters Janice and husband Roland Lizotte of Boylston, MA; Jeanette Andonian and husband Bryan Woods of Portland, ME and Cheryl Andonian and husband Joel Rusnak of Newburyport, MA; grandchildren Roland Lizotte III and partner Lisa Govini of Plymouth, MA, Robert Lizotte and wife Jessica Deprospo Lizotte of Worcester, MA, Jacob Woods of Portland, ME, and Isaac Rusnak of Newburyport, MA; great grandchildren Hannah Lizotte of Clinton, MA and Aria Lizotte and Ashton Lizotte of Worcester; step grandson Zach Queen of Portland, ME; step great granddaughter Gianni Deprospo of Worcester; sister Alice Hachigian of Newton Upper Falls, MA; as well as several nieces and nephews, and many lifelong friends.

The family would like to extend deep gratitude to the doctors and nursing staff at UMass Medical Center and at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home in Worcester for the care, kindness and compassion that they provided for Gladys through her final weeks.

Calling hours and funeral service will be private. A memorial celebration of her life will be planned for a later date. Arrangements are in the care of the Fay Brothers Life Celebration Home, 1 West Boylston St., West Boylston. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Robert and Gladys Andonian Endowment Fund c/o of the Armenian Church of Our Saviour, 87 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609.