Zvart Shahbazian

Zvart Shahbazian

1930 - 2021

Zvart (Hoogasian) Shahbazian died peacefully in her sleep on June 21, 2021. She was a resident of San Leandro since 1973. Born July 15, 1930, in Aleppo, Syria, to John and Miriam Hoogasian, Zvart trained as a seamstress. She met and fell in love with Harry Shahbazian while visiting relatives in Del Rey, California in 1957 and the couple married in 1958.

Harry and Zvart started married life in San Francisco before moving to Menlo Park in 1962. There, the couple raised their three children and became lifelong friends with Pia and Hugo Straub. Zvart worked hard, living life with passion, energy and a giving heart. She was a devoted mother, even as she maintained her home-based seamstress business, worked alongside Harry and became a prolific fundraiser for community organizations.

In 1972, Harry and Zvart bought a shoe store (The Shoe Box) in San Leandro, and moved there the following year. In 1979, they opened a second shoe store in Bay Fair Mall, in San Leandro. While Harry ran the day-to-day business operations, Zvart handled design and merchandising. Among her many community and charitable activities, Zvart served as Chairperson of the Ladies Society at Saint Vartan Armenian Church, as a manager of the Clausen House Thrift Store, and as a member of the San Leandro Lioness Club. She also participated in the San Leandro Lions Club, including the annual crab feed.

Zvart's creative flair extended beyond her talents as a seamstress to encompass cooking, gardening and flower arranging. She loved to shop and picked up many bargains on her world travels. Wherever she went, Zvart brought warmth and fun, amassing a large circle of friends throughout her life. She loved entertaining and sharing her Armenian heritage through the delicious food she made. After living in San Leandro's Bay-O-Vista neighborhood for over 40 years, Zvart's neighbors described her as the "jewel of the neighborhood" due to her active involvement, constant gifting of food and flowers, and serving as a steadfast pillar of their local community. The wild chihuahua that was abandoned in Bay-O-Vista became Zvart's devoted companion, Princess, for the last decade of her life.

Zvart is preceded in death by her husband Harry Shahbazian; parents John and Mariam Hoogasian; brother Hagop Hoogasian; and sisters Aghavni (Hoogasian) Bedrosian and Anahid (Hoogasian) Henesian.

She is survived and sadly missed by her children Mary, John, and Kenneth Shahbazian; granddaughter Melina Osmundson; son-in-law Ed Osmundson; and several nieces and nephews.

A graveside service was held on July 1, 2021, at Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto. Donations can be made in Zvart Shahbazian's name to the St. Vartan Ladies Society, St. Vartan Armenian Church, 650 Spruce St, Oakland, CA 94610.