Wife of former professor Charles Chakerian dies at 103

12-23-2010

By Geoff Ashmun

McCormick Theological Seminary has learned of the death of Juanita R. Chakerian on December 11, 2010, in Corvallis, Oregon. Born on Christmas Eve, 1907, in Rockport, Kentucky, Juanita was the wife of the late Dr. Charles G. Chakerian, former Professor of Social Work and Chair of the Department of Church and Community at McCormick in the 1950s.

Juanita continued the couple’s longstanding commitment to theological education following Charles’s death in 1994 by maintaining a fellowship originally established while Charles was on the seminary’s faculty. The Charles G. and Juanita R. Chakerian Fellowships are cash awards designed to support students in enrolled in one of McCormick’s Dual Competency Programs – the Master of Divinity/Master of Social Work or the Master of Divinity/Master of Library Science.

Juanita Chakerian is survived by her son, Randy (Randolph Logan) Chakerian, and daughter-in-law, Diane Henneberger, both of Corvallis; three grandchildren, Faith of Seal Rock, Raven of Portland, and John Charles of Palo Alto, Calif.ornia; and one great-grandchild, with two more on the way. Contributions in her memory can be made to Benton Hospice Service and/or the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Foundation.

A private ceremony and interment will take place in Walnut Creek, California, where her late husband, Charles, is also interred.