Homes going up and Armenian families being uplifted in memory of Sona Manuelian

Homes going up, Armenian families continue being uplifted in memory of Sona Manuelian

Sona Manuelian personified the deep love that so many Armenian-Americans feel for their homeland of Armenia. And she put that love to work — literally — as she and her beloved husband Leo led annual service trips to help families build safe homes with The Fuller Center of Armenia.

After co-leading her last Fuller Center Global Builders service team in June of 2021, Sona was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She passed away on Christmas Eve 2021, surrounded by family, including her husband of 42 years.

As requested in lieu of flowers, donations poured into The Fuller Center to support the work of building homes in partnership with Armenian families, continuing Sona’s legacy of love and service. The Fuller Center of Armenia already has dedicated one home in Sona’s memory using those funds and is about to embark on another new home build for the Aghamalyan family, who narrowly escaped tragedy when their 5th-floor apartment was destroyed in the 1988 earthquake, when the family had a 5-year-old son, Valerik, and 3-year-old twin sons.

Today, Valerik is a school janitor, while his wife is a preschool teacher. Like many families whose lives drastically changed after that earthquake, the Aghamalyans still live in a metal shipping container — a domik — that was supposed to be a temporary home. Sona Manuelian had a special love for the families who live in domiks, so it is fitting that the next home built in her memory will be for one of those families.

”Sona was a person whose kindness and love towards Armenia and Armenian people can’t be described through words,” said Ashot Yeghiazaryan, Fuller Center of Armenia president. “Her dedication and the way how she inspired others to join our mission were stupendous. She will always be alive in our hearts.”

You can see the complete story on the Fuller Center for Housing Armenia website at the following link:

Fuller Center of Armenia story

Give in memory of Sona Manuelian