Yvonne (Zizi) Tchoulhagian Sarkis, 87, died peacefully on December 19, 2014. She was the daughter of Hagop and Rose Tchoulhagian. She was born August 5, 1927 in Cairo, Egypt, raised in Heliopolis where she graduated from the Nubarian Armenian School and College du Sacre-Coeur. She married Henry Elias Sarkis on December 11, 1949. They just celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary sitting together in peace. They emigrated to the United Sates, to New York City in 1962 and to Tampa, Florida in 1972.
She was active in L’Alliance Francaise and the Armenian American Society of the Suncoast, cooking for events and fundraisers, designing and making dance costumes for her daughters and others. Fluent in four languages, Zizi loved to travel and did so often.
She was preceded in death by her parents, and sister, Marie Huegette Kanaan. Zizi is survived by her sister, Paula Karahissarian, by her husband and three children, Dr. Elias Henry Sarkis, Therese (& Ron) Sarkis Law, and Primrose (& Paul) Sarkis Demirdjian. Her loving grandchildren are Juhli (& Matt) Greene, Daniel (& Heather) Sarkis, Nathalie and Michelle Demirdjian. For a time she was a pattern maker, loving to design elegant gowns, and a lifelong, devout Catholic.
We will celebrate her life with a mass of Christian Burial at Holy Faith Catholic Church in Gainesville on Monday, December 22, 2014 at 1:00 pm with Father John Phillips celebrating. Interment will follow in Forest Meadows Memorial Park West on CR 241 in Jonesville. In lieu of flowers Yvonne requested that donations be made to Catholic Charities, 1701 Northeast 9th Street, Gainesville, FL 32609.
Please accept our expression of sadness at the passing of your mother and grandmother. May she rest in the comfort and peace of God’s care.
Charlotte and Paul Chadik
Prima,
So sorry for your loss. Love and strength to you and your family.
Susan Freedman
Very sad to hear about your mother’s passing. She was a very sweet and kind person. Will always have very fond memories of her and all the great meals that she prepared for us! May she rest in peace.
Prima, Paul and family, Our love, support and prayers are with you and your family during this very diffcult time. Alan and I are with you today in spirit. We look forward to seeing you when you return home. love you our dear dear friends.
Alan and Lorie Steinmetz
Elias and Prima, we are so sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. Zizi was such a special person and she will be greatly missed. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers,
So much life, spirit, and love were to be found in that petite bundle of joy who I knew as “Nona”! I will miss her sparkling personality and generous heart. My thoughts are with all of you, even though I cannot be there in person.
I have very fond memories of being in the Sarkis New Jersey home, waking to the aroma of Mrs. Sarkis’s sausage and egg omelet. She treated Elias’s friends as family and thus we feel the loss of a beloved family member. We are comforted by these memories and the knowledge that her life was blessed with loving family and friends. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
Much Peace,
Joe and Gerry
Our heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Our thoughts are with you, as you go through this time of grief and rememberance. Your mother is joining a special group of moms in the beyond – you’ll be comforted to feel her rooting for you!
Elias and Prima, I am very sorry to hear of the passing of your mother. Our faith gives us support and hope at these times of great personal pain and lost, and gives us clear belief that death is a mere passing from this world to the eternal life of heaven where all of us will be united one day with God and his Saints and Angels.
I never had the pleasure of meeting her, but judging by the caliber of her son Elias, she must have been an amazing woman. Our hearts cry for you in your loss, my friend.
My prayers have been with her over the last days. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you now.
We would like to express our deepest sympathy for your loss. May God comfort your hearts and strengthen your spirit.
Toutes mes condoléances pour ta maman. C’est bien qu’elle soit eteinte en douceur sans beaucoup de souffrance.
Je pense souvent a toi
Je t’embrasse tres fort
Nami
Christine, Jon, Emily and I all express our heartfelt sympathy at the loss of your mother. I will say Kadish for her, a prayer of transition from one state to another. In the case of a loss one asks G-d to transition her(him) to be with him ( G-d) in a new holy state.
My deepest sympathy. Elias you are a wonderful beneficiary of this beautiful spirit. May she rest in peace. I didn’t get to know her but I know we would have been great friends. I am quite sure she is an angel watching over you and all her loved ones, Mary