The Armenian Assembly of America Mourns Longtime Trustee Dr. Robert Mirak

Washington, D.C. - The Armenian Assembly of America joins the greater Armenian American community in mourning the loss of longtime Assembly Trustee, Dr. Robert “Bob” Mirak of Arlington, Massachusetts. Dr. Mirak was born in 1933, the first son of Artemis and John Mirak, both orphans who had survived the Armenian genocide and started a new life in America.

”Dr. Mirak and the Mirak family have been supporters of the Armenian Assembly of America from its inception as well as the Armenia Tree Project’s Mirak Family Reforestation Nursery in Margahovit Village, Armenia. We are grateful for Dr. Mirak's lifelong commitment to both organizations as well as his pursuit of academic excellence in Armenian history and culture,” said Carolyn Mugar, Assembly President Emeritus. The Mirak Nursery began with a greenhouse in 2003 and opened as a nursery in 2007. It is the major producer of trees for reforestation in Armenia with the capacity to grow one million seedlings annually for tree plantings throughout Armenia.

Dr. Mirak was an outstanding scholar, later, a successful businessperson. A graduate of Williams College, Oxford University, and the University of Minnesota, he earned his doctorate at Harvard under historian Oscar Handlin, a trailblazer in studies on American immigration. His dissertation was published by Harvard University Press in 1983 as Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I. Considered a milestone in Armenian studies, it has become a standard work that scholars still look to for reference. His publications include the entry on the Armenians in the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups and articles in scholarly journals. Always active in Armenian community affairs as guest lecturer at Armenian institutions, in 1997 he assumed leadership of The Armenian Cultural Foundation in Arlington, which had been his father’s pride and joy. Together with his daughters Julia and Jennifer, who joined him in running the business, he continued his father’s generous support of social, educational, medical, and agricultural projects in Armenia and Arlington.

Our hearts go out to Dr. Mirak's daughters, Julia Mirak Kew and Jennifer Mirak Leach both Armenian Assembly Intern Alumni and Assembly Trustees as well as to his longtime partner, Houry Yousoufian. Dr. Mirak is also survived by his brother Edward and wife Susan, sister Muriel and husband Michael Weissbach, sons-in-law David Brewster and Daylin Leach, grandchildren Alexandra and Christina Kew and Brennan Alice and Justin Leach. He was predeceased by his wife, Alice Kanlian, in 2000.

Services will be held in Watertown, Massachusetts. Visitation is from 5-8 pm on Tuesday, July 22, and funeral service at 11:00 am on Wednesday, July 23, both at St. James Armenian Apostolic Church, 465 Mt. Auburn St., Watertown. Burial at Mount Auburn Cemetery, followed by a reception at the Armenian Cultural Foundation, 441 Mystic St., Arlington. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. James Church and the Armenia Tree Project (armeniatree.org).

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a strictly non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

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