Alice Najarian Essen
July 20, 2010Graham – Mrs. Alice Najarian Essen, 77, of Graham, NC died unexpectedly of complications at Alamance Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, July 20, with her family by her side. She was born on September 23, 1932 in Reading, PA to Robert Samuel Najarian and Yeranouhi Kazanjian Najarian, who both survived the Armenian genocide. She was married to the late John Robert Essen for 50 years. After living in New York City, Atlanta and Raleigh, they moved to Graham in 1977.
Alice attended Mount Penn High School in Reading, PA and Goucher College in Towson, MD. After raising four children, she received Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from Elon University. She was inducted into a number of academic honor societies, including Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Chi, Epsilon Beta Epsilon, and Sigma Tau Delta. She went on to become the Director of Graduate and International Admissions at Elon, retiring in 2000.
An active member of the community, Alice served as Trustee and Chairman of the Boards of the Central North Carolina Regional Library and the Alamance County Library, where she also served on the Alamance Reads Book Selection Committee. She frequently volunteered and was a docent for the Alamance County Arts Council. Following in her husband’s footsteps, she joined the Graham Appearance Commission and the Graham Tree Board. A longtime member of the Graham Presbyterian Church, she served as Deacon, Treasurer, President of Women of the Church, Chairman of the Visitation Committee and was particularly active in the Presbyterian Women. She also was District Chairman of the Orange Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church.
Alice will be remembered for her exquisite taste, her inquiring mind and her generous spirit. She sought out beauty in everyday life, from her extensive basket and pottery collections to her beloved historic home that she and her husband John rescued and restored. Throughout her life she lovingly nurtured a personal conservatory of plants and in recent years became a passionate landscaper and gardener. Her interests had an enormous breadth, from current affairs to art, theater, architecture, design and films; she consumed knowledge, voraciously reading newspapers, magazines and books. Alice was always thoroughly invested in the lives of her friends and family. Her thoughtful questions and genuine concern will be profoundly missed by all who knew her.
Above all, Alice was a devoted and loving mother. She is survived by her sons John Robert Essen, Jr. and Jeff Erick Essen, her daughter Allison Leigh Essen and husband Edward Murray, her daughter Jennifer Kristen Essen and husband Ciaran O’Reilly, and her seven grandchildren Edward, Jack and Jefferson Murray, Owen and Elia Essen, and Olivia and Seamus O’Reilly.
The memorial service will be held at Graham Presbyterian Church, 216 West Harden Street, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 25. Prior to the service, the family will receive friends in the church parlor from 1 to 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Alice’s name to the Fountain and Gardens Fund of the Graham Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 1089 or the Alamance County Arts Council Endowment, 213 South Main Street, both in Graham, NC 27253.