Jack Chakoian

Jack Chakoian, 95, of North Providence, RI and Boynton Beach, FL., passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at Hope Hospice & Palliative Care, Providence. He was the beloved husband of the late Dorothy (Maddalena) Chakoian and Renate (Martin) Chakoian.

Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Daniel and Margaret (Derderian) Chakoian.

Jack owned and operated RI Decorators in Cranston as an interior decorator for over 50 years before retiring. He graduated from Bryant College with a B.S. in Accounting and was a Navy Veteran serving during WWII.

Jack was awarded many honors over the years from his church and from his town. These include Father of the Year, Past Commander Knight of the Year, Man of the Year, and was honored at the North Providence Town Hall to commemorate the 99th year of the Armenian Genocide.

Jack was a fixture at the gyms in his later years. He proudly flaunted his ability to leg press more than men a third his age, one moment while jumping into a Zumba class without missing a beat with women a third his age the next. 

He was also a musician. He played the saxophone for 53 years in his brothers band, George Chakoian’s New England Ararat Orchestra.  During that time they played over 1,200 weddings. 

At the end of the day the two most important things to Jack was his family and his church. He rarely missed any of his sons sporting events and often traveled hundreds of miles on road trips to support them. He was Donald and Gary’s biggest fan. In the 1970s Jack’s church, St. Sahag & St. Mesrob, was in dire financial shape and in need of a revenue stream. He took the initiative to travel throughout the state attending other organizations bingo games to learn the operations and made it his own.  On every Thursday night for 17 years Jack, along with the support of other volunteers, raised over $500,000 for his church.

He is survived by his loving children, Donald Chakoian and Gary Chakoian and his wife Sharon and devoted brothers, George and his wife Mary and Anthony Chakoian. He is also survived by his cherished grandchildren, Holly Nadolny, Tara Alviano and her husband Michael and Donald Chakoian Jr; 6 dear great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

His funeral will be held Thursday, July 8th at 8:45am from the A.A. MARIANI & SON Funeral Home, 200 Hawkins St., Providence followed by a Funeral Service at 10am at St. Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Church, 70 Jefferson St., Providence. Burial with Military Honors will follow at North Burial Ground, Providence. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-7pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: St. Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Church, 70 Jefferson St. Providence, RI 02908.