Orbelian Family - George Orbelian

Harry Orbelian

My father was the last of the traditional management to leave GUMP’S, when in 1978 he was invited to develop and lead the International Department of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. After close to 15 years of extensive world travel and major events, including hosting President Gorbachev’s 1990 visit to San Francisco (for which Bill Stewart and I collaborated on creating a custom surfboard for President Gorbachev), my father left to start the San Francisco Global Trade Council in 1992.

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

JOHN F. KENNEDY
Commencement address, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
June 11, 1962

Konstantin Orbelian

Konstantin Orbelian, my uncle, was a mythic figure in our family legacy, a talent that lived for and through his music.
Love is spoken of often – it is time that it be fulfilled – Konstantin’s music shines the light of optimism and dignity – his caring for people, his way of sharing what he felt, music was his way to express his appreciation for our world in a way that no other medium could communicate, and when he played, the audience was carried by his compositions to experience his visions and hopes.

Orbelian Family early 20th Century

Orbelian Family Lawsuit

Family lawsuits are a reality check – perhaps the quickest way to dispel any misconceptions anyone may have about family bonds. Once you get over the shock of being embroiled in one, just resign yourself to the fact that you will find out exactly who the people you called family really are, and become familiar with the quote, “Blood is thicker than water and money is thicker than blood.”
The lawyers have no incentive to settle. Family members who never lifted a finger to build family wealth will never be shy about feeling entitled, demanding a bigger piece of something they never earned and blowing money that isn’t theirs on legal fees. Having gone through the experience, my advice is to get the best lawyer you can and make sure he or she has a personality that you enjoy because you will spend a great deal of time together and you need to trust each other. In the end when you look back, you’ll probably see, like I did, that you are way better off separate than you were before.

Eliminated in Accordance
with the INF Treaty

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