Constance M Karajian's Obituary
Constance (“Connie”) Moore Karajian was born in Albany, Australia on Dec. 6, 1916 – 103 years ago. She went home to be with the Lord on January 25, 2020. Her parents were Charles and Harriet (“Maggie”) Moore, natives of England who migrated to Western Australia as pioneers in 1910. They spent twelve hard years there clearing the brush, farming the land, and shooting the occasional kangaroo, and had three daughters: Gwenyth, Connie, and Violet. At that point, they had had enough and decided to emigrate to California. Connie attended Castlemont High School in Oakland. Because of her secretarial skills she was allowed to work in the Principal’s office. She trained further at LIFE Bible College in Los Angeles and at Merritt College in Oakland. She worked a few years for the State of California in Sacramento and in San Francisco as a secretary. She watched the bridges being built as she took the ferry to work.
Music and ministry were a big part of the Moore family. Mr. Moore was a minister in Oakland, and the church he built still remains on 108th Ave. Connie often played for the services. As a teenager, Connie dreamed of becoming a pianist and secretary to an evangelist. In 1944, Dr. Bebe Patten came to Oakland for a 19-week revival and the Moore family joined her ministry. Connie began to work as a secretary for Dr. Patten, transcribing sermons in the old days from a wire recorder which would sometimes get tangled up. She also played the piano for revival services. She was one of the Flying Choir girls who traveled the country with Dr. Patten. Altogether, Connie gave 60 years of faithful service to the Patten ministry in Oakland and was presented with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Patten University in 2004.
In 1956, Connie married Dr. Samuel Karajian, one of the ministers at Christian Cathedral, who was also a professor at Patten College and an outstanding violinist. They had a beautiful life together for 43 years until his passing. Connie is survived by one daughter, Dr. Hannah Harrington, married to Dr. William Harrington, and two granddaughters, Sarah and Rachel Harrington. Connie also has three living nephews: Arthur Reif, Charles Reif, and Rodney Lawrence.
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