Osheen Keshishian, a veteran journalist who founded the Armenian Observer weekly newspaper in Los Angeles, passed away on Monday. He was 91.
In addition to his myriad academic and community endeavors, Keshishian founded, and was the Editor in Chief of, the Armenian Observer in 1969. An English-language weekly publication, the Observer, as it was commonly known, became an important part of the vibrant Armenian community, providing much-needed perspective on community affairs and enriching the vibrant Armenian media landscape.
Born in Jerusalem, Keshishian attended the Holy Translators School there until 1948. When the Arab-Israeli war began, his family left for Amman, Jordan and a year later to Beirut, Lebanon.
Keshishian graduated from the Armenian General Benevolent Union’s Hovagimian-Manougian boys’ high school in 1955. He attended the American University of Beirut for a year and then immigrated to the United States, where he settled in California.
He graduated from the California State University, Los Angeles, and the University of La Verne with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology and American Studies. He served in the U.S. Army for two years, between 1959 and 1961, as a medic, working in Madigan General Hospital, outside Lakewood, Washington.
In addition to his editorial duties, Keshishian was a professor in the Language Department of Los Angeles City College, after which he joined the Glendale Community College faculty for 27 years.
He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Tekeyan Cultural Association of the United States and Canada. He was also a long time member of the Board of Trustees of the Tekeyan Cultural Association’s Arshag Dikranian School in Los Angeles.
Keshishian was on the Committee of the Armenian Genocide Monument, which was erected in 1968, in Montebello. He was entrusted with the transfer of the remains of the famous author William Saroyan to Yerevan, Armenia in 1982.
Keshishian is the recipient of St. Sahag-St. Mesrob Medal, along with the Encyclical, from His Holiness Vasken I, the late Catholicos of all the Armenians.
Keshishian often visited the Asbarez editorial offices where he and the editors and staff engaged in discussions about pressing issues impacting the community and the homeland. He had a unique perspective on political and social issues, which was brought to light through the pages of the Armenian Observer.
The management and editorial board and staff of Asbarez extend their sincerest condolences to Keshishian’s family, relatives and friends.