Following the passing of beloved Ross character Michael Aslanian, his daughter Becky shares the story of how he took up the challenge of restoring a beloved Ross building.
After the passing of his wife, Mr Aslanian moved to Ross and put bought the—at the time—derelict church. As an avid follower of all things antique, he knew that whilst the building looked bad, he felt it was in an ideal location. He put money down and starting to build his life in the town, with his two daughters.
Even though the church needed extensive restoration, Michael knew it was in an excellent location for an antique centre. He loved antiques and fine art and studied these fields intently. He worked tirelessly on the restoration and finally opened its doors by Antiques road-show expert Henry Sandon in the summer of 1997 as Ross Antiques Centre. When the antiques centre started to quieten down it was decided to change it to an indoor shopping arcade. It was filled with different stores with Mr Aslanian dedicating the ground floor to the Local MacMillan Cancer Relief group, in the memory of Becky’s late mother Jayne. The charity raised £16,000 from the premises, which went towards the cost of building the Macmillan Renton Unit. Over time, business quietened down and one-by-one stores left until there was no choice but to shut shop. The building is now a set of luxury apartments.
Mr Aslanian, a proud Armenian, moved to Ross in 1997 with his two daughters—Becky and Marie—with big plans for the United Reform Church on Gloucester Road. His working life started when he left Aleppo at 16 to work in Lebanon, where he slept rough until he secured a job working with precious stones. After a spell in the merchant navy he started an export business where he started saving for his future in Ross.
He died just three days after his diagnosis of myeloid leukaemia on the morning of the April 1, leaving behind his wife, two daughters and four grandchildren. He will be laid to rest at St Mary’s Church in Foy, this Thursday, May 12.