LOS ANGELES -- Moussa Haroonian, the youngest of Haroonian brothers in Los Angeles, who helped establish and manage The Rug Warehouse in Los Angeles, died suddenly on February 12, 2007. He was 43.
He was born in 1963 in Tehran to a prominent and well-respected family in the rug export trade. They were a leaders in the Iranian Jewish community.
He was the youngest of four sons. He immigrated to the US at age 15 with his parents. After finishing his studies in 1985, he joined his father and brothers in the family business of fine new and antique Persian rugs.
Within a few years of joining the business, he realized that the traditional business style had to adapt to the realities of American marketplace.
With hard work, dedication and creativity he was instrumental in changing the direction of the business and helped make it a flourishing and successful one.
His brother, George Haroonian recalled that his special qualities were his boldness, his sharp eye in business and his innovative mind."His older brothers were always in awe of these special qualities. His mind was always active in creating new possibilities for a business that was far from what the past generation of rug dealers had envisioned," said George Haroonian.
He had close and friendly relations with all major vendors of fine grade rugs here in the U.S. as well as overseas and was admired for his business acumen, integrity and fine taste.
"Because of his great mind, The Rug Warehouse is now one of the prominent businesses in the field of rugs in Southern California," George Haroonian noted.
Although he came to this country at such a young age, he remained loyal to his cultural background and was proud of his Iranian and Jewish heritage. He loved classic Iranian music and literature and was proud of its cultural richness. At the same time he took his Jewish-ness very seriously and believed strongly in existence of the State of Israel. He did not see any contradiction in these two loves.
His mother, Mrs. Pari Haroonian, and brothers George and Alexander Haroonian as well as many relatives and friends survive him. The patriarch of the family, Massood Haroonian, died in August 2006.
Donations in his name may be made to:
Libi Foundation
419 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA 02446