Apo Saghdejian passed away in his home in Fresno on June 16, 2025, with his daughter and grandchildren by his side.

He was born on October 6, 1944 in Beirut, Lebanon to Ohannes and Sona Saghdejian. After finishing his schooling in his early 20s, he decided to embark on a journey to America on his own. He attended Cal State Los Angeles and worked in the accounting field for a couple of years before heading to Fresno to follow his passion of farming.

After many years of successful farming, he met his wife Rosine and they were blessed with two children, Nayiri and Hovig. He was a dedicated family man and a devoted Armenian community member/activist/benefactor.

Apo, along with his loving wife Rosine and daughter Nayiri, transformed the tragic loss of his son Hovig in a 2004 car accident into a beacon of hope for Armenian American youth – through the ANCA Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program. Over the course of the past two decades, this Program has helped hundreds of recent graduates find full-time positions in the nation's capital. The truly transformative presence today of an unprecedented number of Armenian Americans serving across Washington, DC's foreign and domestic policy circles is due in large measure to the singular vision and devotion of Apo and his family.

In 2006 he lost his loving wife Rosine. The loss of both his young son and wife back-to-back weighed heavily on him in the ensuing years. However, he took solace seeing his grandchildren Ani and Ara being born and grow up.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at the First Armenian Presbyterian Church located at 430 S. First Street in Fresno. Following church service burial will be at the Masis Armenian Cemetery at 11:00 a.m. at 250 N. Hughes Ave., Fresno. Memorial luncheon (Hokejash) will be served at AJ's Armenian Cuisine at 5048 N. Maroa Avenue, Fresno.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to: ANCA Endowment Fund/Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway Program in Washington, D.C.