Mariam Sahakian, 97, a longtime resident of Racine, passed away May 12th at Oak Creek Place. The daughter of Armenian immigrants, she was born in Racine, WI on February 15, 1925. Mariam was the daughter of Varteres and Manan Garougian and the loving wife of Harold Sahakian. She is survived by her children David (Wendy Zucker), Alan (Jill Morrison), and Donna (Ken Marek). She is further survived by her grandchildren Emily (Ilya Winham), Samuel (Brittany Alioto), and Erik and her great-grandchildren Leo, Robin, Nathan, Luke, and Ellie. She is preceded in death by her parents Varteres and Manan, her husband Harold, and her brother Mikael. Mariam attended UW Madison where she earned degrees in education and French, after which she taught French at Horlick High School and Franklin School in Racine. She furthered her education with a Library Science degree through UW and was a librarian at the Monroe Street Library in Madison. The rest of her career was spent as a librarian with the Kenosha Public School District. After she retired in 1990, Mariam spent well over a decade translating her father's memoir of the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. This was a monumental undertaking. She started with a disintegrating envelope containing 300 loose legal size pages handwritten by her father, Varteres Garougian. Most of the text was in Armenian, but parts were in French, Turkish, and Arabic. There were no chapter markings or margins. Punctuation was minimal. Many place names had been changed by the Ottomans and were not on modern maps. This labor of love, entitled Destiny of the Dzidzernag, was published in 2005 by Gomidas Institute. One scholar called this book "an important step toward filling in some of the blank pages of the past". The book also made Varteres's story accessible to his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and generations beyond. Mariam was a lifelong member of St. Mesrob Church. She and her husband Harold taught Sunday School for many years. The majority of Mariam and Harold's nearly 66-year marriage saw them attending weekly ballroom dancing events. For a number of years, they also found much happiness in square dancing with the Verona Squares. Mariam's love of music was expressed through piano playing, to the enjoyment of those around her. Visitation will be held May 26th from 10:00 – 11:00 at St. Mesrob Armenian Apostolic Church, 4605 Erie Street in Racine. Service will take place at 11:00 and will be followed by burial at Graceland Cemetery. MASKS REQUIRED FOR VISITATION AND SERVICE. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mesrob Church or the Foundation for Armenian Relief. Mariam's family wishes to extend heartfelt thanks to all of the amazing people at Oak Creek Place and St. Croix Hospice.