Best
man ever' dies
PUBLISHED: July 12, 2006
"I can't even begin to tell you
how many lives he touched," his wife, Ann Marie Kavorkian, said through
tears.
Simply stated, she said he was the
"best man ever."
Kavorkian was a longtime member of the
"Mark Kavorkian was a special
person," said Cora Kelly, chief executive officer and superintendent of
the district. "He was highly regarded in both the Melvindale community and
in our school system."
Kelly said Kavorkian held a special
place in her heart as he was a student in her English class in 1969.
He graduated from
"He loved his students and gave
his life to our schools," Kelly said.
"He will be sorely missed as an
administrator. Our home football games will not be the same without his
familiar voice broadcasting from the press box at Cardinal Stadium."
At all the home football games,
Kavorkian served as the play-by-play announcer.
Over the years, he came to be known as
the voice of Melvindale, his wife said.
Kelly said she often teased him by
saying that his blood ran Cardinal Red.
The alumnus began working for the
district in August 1978, when he was hired as a high school social studies
teacher.
During the early 1980s, he taught adult
education.
In 1990, he became assistant principal
of
He later returned to the middle school
as an assistant principal.
Beginning in 1995, he was the junior
varsity wrestling coach for about 10 years.
In 1998, he was a football coach for
the eighth grade. He also coached track.
In 2001, he was named principal at
Strong.
The Kavorkian family, which includes
two daughters, lives in
"He was a wonderful husband and
father," his wife said. "He was always there for us whenever we
needed him, and he encouraged us every day of our lives.
"He was a caring, loving husband,
and he was always there for me. And whenever the girls had problems, they came
to him. They called him their rock."
The Kavorkians
also have a grandson, now 3, and a younger granddaughter.
Jason used to play football with his
granddad, whom he called his papa, his wife said.
Jason was the star of grandpa's eye,
and the boy felt the same about papa.
"He thought he was
everything," Ann Marie Kavorkian said.
At work, the teachers were like one big
family or a team, she said.
"They were there for one
another," his wife said. "It was like a second family ... to
him."
While Kavorkian was in the hospital due
to complications after surgery prior to his death, he was flooded with letters
and get-well cards.
Some letters even came from former
students in
"He touched everybody," she
said.
Some of his former students' letters
discussed how he was a motivator, and they recalled his speeches, especially as
related to sports events.
One student's letter to Kavorkian says
he had the athletes holding their heads high.
"Win or lose, we were proud to
represent Melvindale," it says.
Both at work and outside of work,
Kavorkian was all about history.
He and his nearly lifelong friend, Jim
Berry, took road trips to historical sites every year.
He also was a 32nd degree Mason, a Shriner and a member of Lincoln Park Ionic Lodge 539.
His wife said he knew former students
and other people everywhere he went, whether it was apple or pumpkin picking or
on vacation miles away.
"He touched so many lives,"
she said. "The big thing is, he loved kids. He
loved working with those kids.
"He was our rock. He held everything
together."
In addition to his wife, daughters
Julie and Jennifer and grandchildren Jason and Kayla, Kavorkian is survived by
his parents, George and Patricia Kavorkian of Melvindale.
Visitation is from 2 to 9 p.m. today at
the Allen Park Chapel-Martenson Family of Funeral
Homes,
A service will be held at 9:30 a.m.
tomorrow at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, 20710 Colgate, in
Burial will be at Our Lady of Hope
Catholic Cemetery in
Donations are suggested to the Mark
Kavorkian Scholarship Fund.