John J. Akillian U.s.-armenian Hero

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Daily News Tribune, MA

Feb 22 2007

 

 

One last refrain

 

By Nicole Haley/Daily News staff

Thursday, February 22, 2007 - Updated: 12:50 AM EST

 

 

 

During World War II, John J. Akillian kept U.S. forces fighting

strong by keeping spirits high.

The late Waltham real estate agent made a lot of friends as a band

director in the Army entertainment corps, performing with the likes

of legendary film actor Mickey Rooney and comic actress Martha Raye.

 

Akillian died Sunday at the age of 85, leaving behind friends and

family whose lives he forever changed.

 

"He was a gentleman in every sense of the word," recalls Jennifer

LaBouliere, senior director of Community Relations at Waltham

Crossing, the assisted living facility where Akillian spent his final

days. "He just had that old school gentlemanly way about him - he was

like a Dean Martin."

 

Indeed Akillian was a man from a different era. A pianist, composer,

and band arranger, Akillian attended the New England Conservatory of

Music and formed a swing band in the 1930s known as the Johnny Akill

Band. The band performed in nightclubs and hotels throughout Boston

and Cape Cod.

 

Stationed at Camp Otis on Cape Cod during World War II, Akillian

brought his music to the U.S. armed forces, crossing paths with

several now legendary entertainers along the way.

 

"Tony Bennett took a liking to a lot of my father's original

compositions," said his daughter, Louise Akillian of Lincoln. She

said her father told the future Grammy Award winning artist "no

dice."

 

"He was very proud of his own skills," she said, adding that she and

her sister began music lessons at a very early age at her father's

urging.

 

It was at Camp Otis that Akillian met his wife, the late Virginia

(Kolodziey) Akillian, who was there as a secretary to an Army

officer. The couple married on Cape Cod and settled in Waltham where

Akillian started his real estate firm, J.G. Akillian, Inc.,

contributing to the post-war housing development boom. Of all his

passions, Louise Akillian said family was always her father's first

priority.

 

"First was family and second was his music," she said. Louise

Akillian said her parents created a household dedicated to family

togetherness and rich with tradition as John Akillian was second

generation Armenian and his wife was second generation Polish.

"Together they created a very solid, very committed family."

 

Akillian suffered an illness and was hospitalized for nine months

last year. But he fought to come back even stronger and engineered a

recording of wartime love songs in the fall. He personally presented

the compilation to Patti Page - the country to pop music crossover

sensation who sold more records than any other female vocalist during

the 1950s - when she played at the Reagle Players theatre in

September. Akillian visited her backstage to deliver a copy of his

recording. Reached via e-mail yesterday, Page remembered Akillian as

a friend and important musician.

 

"I worked so many times in the Boston area and John was one of the

great musicians that always made it enjoyable," Page wrote.

 

Akillian continued spreading joy with his music right into the last

week of his life. Every day, Akillian practiced piano for two hours

at Waltham Crossing, LaBouliere said, much to the delight of his

fellow residents who listened eagerly from down the hall. LaBouliere,

who remembered Akillian checking into the home in a wheelchair,

described him as a determined but modest man who always dressed

impeccably. In less than a year, Akillian progressed from a

wheelchair to moving freely through the home with his cane, she said.

 

"He always had a smile," LaBouliere said, adding that everyone at

Waltham Crossing - from dining room servers to department heads -

knew him and loved him.

 

Aside from his music, Louise Akillian said her father was also an

astute historian reading up on the Middle East and Armenian history

whenever he had the chance. He consumed biographies and poetry and

was partial to watching cooking shows when relaxing in front of the

television. The renaissance man taught his daughters to indulge

passions and pursue dreams.

 

"He was a very determined and willful person and if there was

something he wanted to accomplish, he would," Louise Akillian said.

 

In addition to his daughter Louise, Akillian leaves another daughter,

Gayna Akillian of Acton; his brother Richard and his sister Anahid

Keshishian; and his grandchildren Elisabeth, Caroline, Alexander, and

Benjamin. Services were held with burial in Ridgelawn Cemetery in

Watertown.

[Anoushik]

It's nice. This article gave me a warm feeling. John J. Akillian seems to have had a good life

[Aratta-Kingdom]