1905 – 1968 : Leon (Levon) Tutundjian was born in Amasya, in Sivas Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire in 1905. Tutundjian came from a relatively wealthy and educated family-his father and grandfather were teachers. He went to good schools, learned to speak French, and dreamed of moving to Paris. Unfortunately, the family moved often so his father could procure teaching jobs. Tutundjian’s life changed dramatically when his father died from cerebral hemorrhage around 1915.Without a primary provider, the family was soon destitute and Tutundjian’s mother was forced to sell the family’s possessions to care for her children. However, the family did settle down for a time and Tutundjian was able to study at the Berberian and Getronagan schools in Constantinople since his father had taught there. In 1921-22, Tutundjian’s mother placed her son on a boat with other Armenian orphans head to Greece from Constantinople. He was sixteen or seventeen years of age at the time, older than most of the orphans, but the separation from his mother was still difficult for him. According to his daughter, because of the sad memories associated with this parting, Tutundjian always hated to travel, particularly on boats. In 1923, he stayed briefly at the Armenian monastery of the Mekhitarist Brotherhood in the St. Lazzaro island of Venice, Italy, where he studied science and Armenian illuminated manuscripts.
