Carl DerGarabedian passes away at 86

Bronx native and longtime Baldwin resident Carl DerGarabedian passed away on March 20, 2022 at Mount Sinai South Nassau from stroke complications; he was 86 years old. His wife Roxi, three sons Michael, Scott and Dean, only sibling Anita Alpuche of upstate Pearl River and ten grandchildren survive him.

Never fully retiring, DerGarabedian worked up until the time of his death, fueled by copious amounts of coffee, his love of the community and his commitment to his son’s bicycle shop- where he did the bookkeeping. “He was with me until the end,” said his son and Oceanside Cycle owner Scott, 56, “He didn’t go to college, but he was just a smart, smart businessman.”

Only sleeping for three or four hours when he got home, DerGarabedian would get up early to open the doors at Baldwin Cycle, the bicycle shop he started with his father-in-law in 1968 and kept running until 2002. After he closed his shop, he kept working at Oceanside Cycle, the bicycle shop he helped his youngest son, Scott, start three decades earlier.

His family said that was typical for a man who for decades ran his own business by day, worked a full-time union job overnight in Manhattan, also helping his wife raise their three sons and eventually unwinding with a simple Scotch and cigar at the end of a long day.

DerGarabedian was well known in the Baldwin community with his lose felt by bike shop patrons, the Baldwin wrestling community, and many others. A local sports fan and major league lover he held season tickets to the New York Giants, followed baseball closely, choosing the Mets over Yankees, and liked to play cards, his family said.

He married the former Roxi Chrovian in 1957, telling Newsday that it felt like she, “Hit the lottery when I married him almost 65 years ago.” After, she became a stay-at-home mom and moved their family into her Baldwin childhood home, a Victorian with a wraparound porch. She said the two things she will miss most about her husband are the dances and laughter they shared together over their many years together.

A first-generation American born to Armenian immigrants, DerGarabedian was born on Feb. 8, 1936, and attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx before serving four years overseas in the U.S. Army.

The family held a service at Cecere Family Funeral Home in Baldwin to commemorate the long and meaningful life of Carl DerGarabedian.