Seta Tcherkoyan's Obituary
Seta Tcherkoyan
1934-2023
Paso Robles
Seta Margaret (Sherinian) Tcherkoyan left this life onOctober 8, 2023, to rejoin her beloved husband Greg.She missed him deeply for almost precisely one year.
Seta was born on January 11, 1934, in Cliffside Park,New Jersey. She was the frstborn child to her parentsHarry and Juliette, both of whom immigrated to the U.S.after escaping the Armenian genocide in Turkey. Theirlife was immersed in the extended family who arrived inthis country one at a time, immigrants seeking safety forthemselves and their children. This identity was a powerful experience for a little girl with a foreign-soundingfrst name and a non-English frst language. She knewwhat it felt like to be an outsider; and her whole lifelong, she had a heart for refugees and immigrants—fromanywhere.
Seta had two younger brothers—Harry (always knownin the family as ‘Junior’) and Dennis. In 1948 they movedto Oakland, and the community she is surrounded bystill. The Sherinians were one of the founding families ofSt. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church. Seta attendedOakland High School, but her closest friends and companions were the Armenian youth she knew through theACYO. Many of her lifelong friends were people she hadknown as a teenager.
Seta defed her father and the expectations of women inher day and began college at U.C. Berkeley. And then shemet Greg…and everything changed.
They were married at 20; their frst child, Kathi, arrivedwhen they were just 21. Patti and Kirsti were born soonafter, during the fve years they lived in North Hollywoodestablishing their own family. Their house payment was$102 a month, an impossible-sounding stretch on Greg’ssalary. And still Seta managed to save something everymonth—for investment, for their future.
Seta and Greg built a life in Moraga, shaped aroundtheir children, extended family, good friends, and thechurch they were deeply committed to. She was an energetic mother, a regular volunteer, a ready friend. Shefound meaning and purpose in a faith nurtured by BibleStudy Fellowship. When her children were a little bit older, she went to work as a bookkeeper; her quick mindand unfailing common sense led her to become Controller for a chain of well-known gift stores in the EastBay.
When her grandchildren were born—four granddaughters—Seta devoted herself to them with the samelively spirit she had poured into her children. She andGreg offered their time and their home generously. Theywere always happy to gather there—not only with children and grandchildren, but with extended family,friends, neighbors.
Seta was generous; she was kind; she was a dependable, always-ready-to-listen friend to many. For thelast several months she lived at Creston Village in PasoRobles, an assisted living facility where she became atrusted friend and confdante to staff and residents both.She will be deeply missed by many.
Seta is survived by her daughters Kathi, Patti (Jerry)and Kirsti; granddaughters Stacey, Caeti, Nicole andKrista; great-granddaughter Francesca; brother HarrySherinian Jr. and sister-in-law Diana Shirin; and manynieces, nephews and cousins. You were part of her story;she is part of yours.
Funeral service is Friday, October 20, 11:00 am, at St.Vartan Armenian Church, 650 Spruce Street, Oakland,CA.
Donations are welcome, in lieu of fowers, to one ofSeta and Greg’s favorite charities: Doctors Without Borders
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