Mary Virginia Swajian

Mary Swajian (1925-2022)
Mary Getsoian Swajian, 96, longtime Coachella Valley resident, passed away on Oct. 20, 2022 at her home in Palm Desert that she had shared with her beloved husband Arthur.
Mary was born in Dearborn, Michigan in December 1925, the first of three children of Manuel and Anne Getsoian . Her father was a cabinetmaker; her mother taught herself to be a seamstress and at the age of 18 was sewing elegant dresses for Mrs. Henry Ford and the Dodge sisters. On Dec. 7,1941 the family arrived in San Diego, CA. Mary graduated from Hoover High School in 1943. She worked at Hughes Aircraft upon graduation until she met Arthur in 1945 while he was in the Navy stationed in San Diego. (Interesting to note that she and Arthur were introduced by the same couple who introduced Mary's parents to each other decades earlier in Michigan.) They married on June 22, 1946 and moved into their home in Alhambra, CA in Los Angeles County. Arthur was a civil engineer with the County of Los Angeles when he accepted a position with the State Water Quality Control Board in Indio, CA in 1955. By then Mary had given birth to two children, Gregory and Cathy.
They built a new home on two acres in Bermuda Dunes and lived there for the next 18 years. Mary was involved with the Junior Women's Club of Indio, as well as Girl Scout Troop 316. After their children were grown, Mary and Arthur moved to Palm Desert in 1973 and remained in that home.
Mary was an extraordinary Armenian cook. She was very active along with Arthur in the establishment of the St. Garabed Armenian Church of the Desert and served on the church council for many years. She was a terrific entertainer she and Arthur along with good friends Velo and Ara Herbekian, Iris and Bob Herbekian, Jim and Ann Gimian, and others enjoyed each other's company at home parties and sometimes 'on the town'. Later in life Mary ran a popular twice/weekly senior citizens exercise program at Palm Desert's Joslyn Center. Her 67-year marriage to Arthur until his passing in 2013 was a beautiful union of two people who loved their family, friends and life in the Coachella Valley.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Arthur, and son-in-law Mark Abernathy. She leaves two children, son Gregory and daughter-in-law Dawn Swajian and their children Justus, Grant, and Duke, of Indian Wells, CA; and daughter Cathy Abernathy and her children Madeline Abernathy of Bakersfield, CA, and Margaret Abernathy and her husband Josh Brost, and their daughter Stella, Mary's great-granddaughter, of Hermosa Beach. Mary is also survived by her two sisters, Rose Bender of San Diego, and Jeanette Massery of Cortlandt, NY, and four nieces and nephews.
A service will be held Saturday, Nov 19 at 11 am at St. Garabed Armenian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the St. Garabed Armenian Church,38905 Vista Dunes Rd., Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.