- Date Of Birth: February 8, 1931
- Date Of Death: April 3, 2017
- State: Michigan
Louise Chiroyan was born in Marseille, France, in 1931. Her parents were Arousiac and Haroutiun Chiroyan. Twelve years later her brother and only sibling was born named Roger. Louise attended the Armenian school and church in the St. Loup neighborhood in Marseille for grade school. Helping to raise her baby brother during Nazi occupied France, Louise learned sewing and fashion design attending technical college. She then received a prestigious scholarship to attend the University to study business in Paris. Her strict Armenian parents would not allow her to live in Paris hundreds of miles away from her family. In 1955, when she was 24 years old, Louise came to the United States and stayed with relatives where she worked to gain her citizenship to be able to bring the rest of her family over from France. She was hired as a seamstress at Klein’s, an upscale department store in downtown Detroit, then went to work for the Mademoiselle Boutique. She was able to obtain visas for her brother and then later her mother to come join her in the United States. Later she started dating Peter Topelian whom she married on April 19, 1964. Louise and Peter had 2 children, Eric and Rana, and then moved to their home in Allen Park. Louise was an expert seamstress and fashion designer. She made clothes for Miss America and the FCC Commissioner’s wife, and also had her designs sold at boutiques in Washington DC and at Barneys New York. But her priority was always her children and family. As her children became teenagers and getting close to college, Louise taught herself the stock market and learned how to invest in stocks and IPO’s to help pay for their college education. When she put her mind to something, there really was no stopping her. After her children finished college and got married, Louise was blessed with four beautiful grandchildren, Jacqueline, Peter, Annika, and Andre, who were the joy of her life. Growing up during war and depression, Louise never forgot how valuable life is, the opportunities that this country provided, and was very thankful for all of her family and friends. She was a very generous and gracious person, always wanting to make others happy………………
