Funeral services for Anie Manaushigian and Arie Orchanian — who were killed in a car crash in Watertown on Dec. 23 — will be held on Jan. 5, 2026. Separate burials are planned.
The aunt and nephew passed away after the crash on Bigelow Avenue, which took place as they returned to the Armenian Memorial Church after a family member’s funeral.
The funeral services will take place at the church at 11 a.m. on Jan. 5. Interment for Orchanian will take place after the funeral service and will be held at Ridgelawn Cemetery, Watertown. Manoushagian will be laid to rest at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne on Jan. 7 at 1:45 p.m.
According to the obituary on the Bedrosian Funeral Home website, Manoushagian was born in Lebanon in 1945 to the Rev. and Mrs. Barkev & Arousiag Orchanian, and spent part of her childhood in Syria, where her father ministered to an Armenian Evangelical Community.
She earned a degree from the Nursing Program at the American University in Beirut, and she worked in Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. She migrated to the United States in 1979, and worked a several hospitals in Malden and Boston.
Manoushiagian sang in the Yerevan Choral Society for many years, and was a dedicated member of the Armenian Memorial Church in Watertown since 1979.
She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Berj Manoushagian of Waltham, her brother and his wife John and Maral Orchanian of Lexington, and her nephew Johnie Norayr Orchanian of Woburn.
Born in Cambridge, Orchanian grew up in Watertown and Lexington, where he formed lifelong friendships and deep roots within the Armenian and Evangelical communities, according to the obituary from Bedrosian Funeral Home .
He attended St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School in Watertown, and went on to the Lexington Public Schools. Orchanian earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University, and was just months shy of graduating from Northeastern with an MBA.
Orchanian worked at Mintz as a Senior Marketing Technology Specialis, and he had a deep love for music and photography.
He is survived by his parents, John and Maral Orchanian; his brother, Johnie Norayr Orchanian, and sister-in-law, Garin Haidostian Orchanian; along with extended family and many dear friends.
For both Manoushagian and Orchanian, In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Armenian Memorial Church of Watertown.