Folsom Funeral Service

Stuart Theodore (Merdinyan) Meridan  a Westwood resident for 56 years, and summer resident of Wings Neck, Pocasset died Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at the Stanley Tippett House in Needham. He was 97.  Stuart was the devoted and beloved husband for 69 years of D. Elaine (Fuller) and the blessed father of Paula Meridan of Westwood, Nancy Tashjian and husband Craig, of Wellesley, and  Jeanne Hill, and husband David, of Medfield. Loving grandfather of Scott, Blake and Maria Tashjian, and Joseph, Christopher, Geoffrey and David Hill II. He was predeceased by his parents Ardashes H. Merdinyan MD (an orphan of the Armenian genocide) and Jeanette (Ohlinger) Merdinyan as well as his 4 brothers, Edward, and his wife Gladys, William, and his wife Gertrude, Phillip, and his wife Marjorie, and the Reverend Wallace Merdinyan. Born Feb 12, 1920  in Pawtucket, RI, and raised there, Stuart graduated from URI as a pharmacist in 1942 . A proud veteran of World War II, he enlisted in the Army as a private, becoming First Lieutenant in Company D, 316 Medical Battalion: 91st Infantry Division, where he served from North Africa to North Apennines and the PO Valley.  In Italy his unit preserved the bridges in Florence, and saved the Tower of Pisa. Returning home he moved with his mother from Pawtucket to Dedham where he met and married Elaine. They built and opened Endicott Pharmacy which they operated for 25 years, until his retirement at 58, when he sold the business which continued for an additional 25 years. It became Endicott Variety which stands today at Endicott Circle. Stuart loved spending summers at Wings Neck with family, friends and lifelong neighbors, watching the Red Sox, talking sports, puttering in the garden and workshop, discussing politics and international issues, and reveling in his daily reading of Wall Street Journal. The consummate gentleman, he was always grateful for the care and dedication of Dr. Scott Perman and Dr. Andrew Gillies, and for the unsurpassed care of staff and physicians of The Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, the Dana Farber Palliative Care Unit, Boston, and Partners VNA, as well as his many caregivers. Visitation from 10:00-11:00 AM followed by funeral service at 11:00 AM on Saturday December 9 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 950 East Street, Dedham.  Interment with full military honors at The Gardens at Gethsemane Cemetery, Baker St., West Roxbury. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to The Fisher House Boston,1400 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury, MA 02132 or St. Luke’s Lutheran Church 950 East Street Dedham, MA 02026.

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