Samuel Vartanian (April 20, 1934–April 24, 2017) was born in Aleppo, Syria, the youngest of four kids born to Sedrak of Zeitun and Zarouhi of Marash. His parents were born in the Ottoman Empire and both had spouses, children, and extended families that perished in the Armenian Genocide.

Zarouhi met Sedrak in Aleppo’s Zeitun Khan refugee camp, and they were arbitrarily married by an Apostolic priest. While living in poverty, his parents had four children: Sarkis, Ampartzoum, Rebecca, and Sam. All of them worked hard and found more opportunities elsewhere, often motivated to leave because of war or the rise of Arab nationalism. Sarkis went to Toronto and Ampartzoum moved to Montréal, while his sister eventually settled in Philadelphia.

Like so many Armenians across West Asia, Samuel became a photographer after apprenticing with Photo Haig in Aleppo. He eventually opened his own shop, where the bulk of his business was passport photos. He also shot more formal studio portraits for clients and cultivated a simple and straightforward aesthetic. He was best known for his skills of retouching photographs, and he even carefully drew an eye on the image of a one-eyed man who requested the addition. He lived for years in Damascus, where he did some photography for the Syrian army during his mandatory military service, and then he briefly lived in Qamishli and Latakia, before settling in Aleppo, where he met Hripsime Hamalian, who everyone called Zvart. They were engaged before ever dating when Sam asked for her hand from her parents (Puzant and Mariam). Sam and Zvart had two sons: Puzant (who they called Bobby) and Hrag. They started a life together and in 1975 they immigrated to Toronto, Canada.

Becoming Canadian was one of Samuel’s greatest achievements, but it cost him his career in studio photography. Samuel immigrated to Canada as a welder, and he even staged a photo showing him on the job. He left all his photography-related stuff behind, making the break once and for all. He did bring a Soviet camera with him and it was clear he loved to take photographs. He carried the leather-cased 35mm camera on many excursions. He loved images, and adored Hollywood films. He worked as a lithographer for decades, mainly at Graphitech in Toronto's Rexdale neighborhood, where his family settled by the 1980s. The Vartanians were one of the only Syrian or Armenian families in north Etobicoke. They kept to themselves and regularly attending various barahanteses, galas, scouting events, tournaments, plays, and concerts at the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) center in Scarborough.

In 2007, Sam and Zvart separated and he moved a few blocks away to an apartment on Kipling Avenue. Sam loved Rexdale, particularly when he got to walk in its parks, ravines, and streets for hours at a time.

In 2014, Samuel Vartanian had a stroke from which he was unable to fully recover and moved into the Malton Village long term care facility. Every resident was given a memory box at the entrance of their rooms and Samuel incorporated the three photos — including the ones pictured here — but never really explained why he chose them.

He had a stroke on April 18 and died on the 102nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, an event that profoundly impacted his life.

He died holding his son Hrag’s hand at Etobicoke General Hospital and he is survived by his ex-wife, his two sons, a son-in-law (Veken Gueyikian), his sister, two sisters-in-law (Zabel and Lena), a brother-in-law (Manuel Varjabedian), and 10 nieces and nephews (Pauline, Vicken, Nayiri, Sevan, Seta, Ani, Raffi, Datev, Nareg, and Maria) in four countries (Armenia, Canada, Syria, and the United States).

Visitation will be held at NEWEDIUK FUNERAL HOME, KIPLING CHAPEL, 2058 Kipling Avenue (North of Rexdale Boulevard) on Saturday, April 29, 2017 from 10 a.m. until memorial service in the chapel at 11 a.m. Entombment Glendale Memorial Gardens. Online condolences at newediukfuneralhome.com