Bedrosian, Marie G. of Watertown, MA. passed away peacefully with family by her side, January 10, 2014. Born in Boston to the late Charles and Grace Bedrosian, she graduated from Watertown High School and completed the Retail Selling Course offered by the Simmons College Prince School of Retailing.
Marie then led a prominent career in retail as a merchandising manager and buyer for Jordan Marsh, Bonwit Teller, Daniel Low and Company, and other storied Boston and New York retail establishments. She was one of only a small handful of women at that time in the U.S. to achieve rank and stature in the clothing industry, pioneering the way for others that eventually followed. Her love of the industry was widely known in the U.S., Europe, and Hong Kong. Marie was particularly respected for her buying abilities in the dress department, anticipating tastes and market trends in an age that preceded the data and buying pattern information that is collected and analyzed with the use of computers today. During her years in New York, she worked closely with fashion designers such as Coty award winning Adri and traveled extensively.
Marie’s second career was in the food industry. She returned to Watertown after completing a cooking certificate at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and opened her own catering business, Food for Thought, in Cushing Square, Belmont. Her storefront provided pre-packaged dinners in small portions at the early advent of “take home meals” in addition to catering events. The catering broadened her interest into other areas, including decorative flowers and arrangements. After taking additional classes and working in the field, she created her own floral service and until very recently provided corporate flower arrangements through “Arie’s”.
Marie loved music, travel, tasteful clothes, imaginative food and flowers, and was often seen with unique and unusual adornments. She also adored soaking in the sights and sounds of the ocean as often as possible. She was an extraordinarily generous and giving person who was constantly making favorite dishes for ill friends or attentively visiting those in need. Her more formal efforts included years spent as a Mass. General Hospital volunteer. She sought to be the giver of the “favorite gift” every year, and always had an eye for distinctive things.
Marie leaves her two sisters, Dorothy Der Hagopian of Portland, Maine and Elissa Putukian and her husband John of Sudbury, Mass. She is beloved by her nieces and nephews Lucine and Zareh Der Hagopian, Lisa, Margot and Peter Putukian and each of their families. She is also survived by many loving relatives and friends, including Angelo Koutroukas and his family. A memorial service was held on Saturday, January 18 with a collation immediately afterwards. Private interment at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to support pancreatic cancer research at Massachusetts General Hospital, with checks made out to MGH, and sent c/o Development Office, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 1310, Boston,MA 02114.