Sarkis Gabrielian was born in the cosmopolitan port city of Novorossiysk U.S.S.R. in November 1930. He had a normal childhood growing up. He was the fifth of seven siblings. He went to school, did chores, took the family cow to graze. He had many, many friends of all ages.

That all changed when World War II started. He and his family first had to endure the initial fighting then the occupation of the city by the Germans. He lived through the constant fighting, lack of food and the suffering of the local civilian population. When they were forcibly removed from their home - they became refugees.

All that compounded when the German soldiers forced Sarkis and three of his friends to defuse mines in a field. A mine detonated during the process. Sarkis was gravely wounded and two of his friends and several Germans were killed.

In the hospital, his mother was told to take him home and he would not live for much longer, but through his will and a random act of kindness, he survived. The injury should follow him throughout his life, but it never slowed him down.

After the evacuation of the city by the Germans, his family was separated, and as refugees they spent nearly two years on the journey, usually by railcar to Germany.

Sarkis endured the elements, always working, looking for opportunities to make money and obtain food to bring back to the family. He shined shoes at train stations and went to the local bazaars to barter for food. He was always active.

He not only witnessed, but lived all aspects of the war. He had many stories of hardship and suffering. He and his family even endured a few weeks in a concentration camp in Belorussia.

He had more than a few brushes with death. In one instance, a German guard put Sarkis up against a wall inside a warehouse and asked him who threw some crates over the compound wall. The guard proceeded to fire three rounds near Sarkis’s head. Sarkis did not say a word.

He also saw and witnessed acts of compassion, kindness and humanity. As a young teenager, the war forged his character.

Upon the family’s arrival in Germany, it was more of the same. The entire family was reunited, then they were once again separated to different villages in southern Germany to work as forced labor.

Sarkis worked in the fields and in animal agriculture. He tended to the farm animals and horses. He cleaned and fed them.

As their time in captivity progressed, the relationship with Sarkis’s father and the Bauer, the man that not only ran the farm, but was in charge of the surrounding area, who even had a picture of himself with Hitler, evolved into something different from the norm.

During his time in wartime Germany, Sarkis witnessed the U.S. bombers flying overhead. He witnessed the daylight bombing of Heilbron while standing on a hill. The air duels between allied planes and the Germans. He witnessed and experienced strafing runs by P-51 fighters.

Sarkis first met American GI’s while resting under a tree at dusk. They were the first troops moving toward his village. Soon after he was riding on their jeep into the middle of town. Such was his character. The Americans befriended him.

After the war he and his family spent four years in a displaced persons camp. A few thousand Armenians lived together. They became an extended family and many remained close for years to come.

During that time the family made a living making shoes and sandals, selling them to the local population. Young Sarkis, through his entrepreneurship, would buy and sell goods to the American soldiers and German civilians. He was the middleman.

The family immigrated to the United States in October 1949 to Fresno, California. He and the family initially worked as field hands, picking cotton and pruning grapes. Sarkis then worked for a tire company, Ace Service in downtown Fresno. During his time there, through his work ethic, charisma, personality and physical strength, he became a valued employee. The Armenian owners sought his services years after he left.

Sarkis was also part of the Fresno Armenian community. He knew most everyone. Through his outgoing personality, knowledge of different cultures and languages, he befriended many people.

In one instance, Sarkis was at an Armenian wedding in Fresno and he met the actor Krekor Ohaninan, better known as Mike Conners. Mike needed to return to Los Angeles, and Sarkis offered to drive him back. That lead to an introduction to Marilyn Monroe in a studio in Hollywood.

Always with a positive attitude, he decided to go to a sold-out show at the Shrine Auditorium. A dressed -up, waiting outside, looking for tickets, a man approached and gave him tickets. The man was Henry Fonda. During the performance, Sarkis sat in the third row, amongst the celebrities. His friends in the bleachers could not believe their eyes.

While he still lived in Fresno, he met and started courting his future wife Tamara, who lived in Montebello, California. He moved to Southern California, bought a cold lunch truck, married, had children, bought his first house and transitioned to a hot lunch truck. He was there with Vahe, when he came up with the plans. During that time, he created a vast network of friends and acquaintances. Within that circle, even Armand Hammer came and introduced himself.

Since he believed in progress, he became involved in the jewelry business. Through his good credit, reputation and business aptitude, the business grew, eventually going public. Sarkis and his partner had big plans for the company. On the verge of a new and extraordinary business venture, tragedy struck.

Sarkis was able to restore order to the company, but due to circumstances and his personal convictions, he elected to leave the company with only his initial investment.

Other events lead to his return to Fresno. Sarkis moved into the vineyard purchased back in the 1950’s. The vineyard and the home on the property had been neglected, so he and his older brother Haroot, brought it back to order. Sarkis’s family soon followed after the sale of their home in Montebello.

He worked the farm for two years, and he said the time on the ranch was like a vacation, working the land and spending time with his family, going fishing with his sons and brother Haroot.

Later he moved from the country to the city. He built a home in north Fresno. He proceeded to sell the vineyard. Now he needed something to do. A friend suggested they start a business manufacturing paper tubes and cores. With very little knowledge in the process, and trust in his friend, they began. Shortly afterward, with the exit of his associate, Sarkis was left with only is brother and two sons to forge ahead. Through sheer determination, willpower and hard work the business grew from a small building in Fowler, California to an owner built and occupied facility in Fresno, California. After his retirement, Sarkis remained active within the company, going to work every day. Always working, always helping.

As time moved on, he made new friends. That group of friends would entertain at each other’s homes and stay close for years.

Throughout his life, Sarkis always remained fit and active. He had many hobbies. He loved photography. He started taking photographs with his Leica camera back in Germany. He made home movies of his family and used a polaroid camera to capture family moments.

In his youth he played soccer, went hunting and shooting with his friends. He sang at weddings and played the Armenian Dohl or Kopal drum.

He never forgot his relatives back in the Soviet Union. He sent them aid first. Then he brought his uncle to visit the United States, then his aunt, and finally a few cousins.

He also loved children and was a godfather to seven. The neighbor’s kids would always come and visit.

Sarkis bore witness to a tumultuous and ever-changing time in history. He had a unique, detailed and personal view into that part of history. He will be sorely missed.