His son Keith Tavshanjian of K T Marble & Tile Co., in Oceanside, Calif., said, “It was a shock to us that he is gone. He was involved with tile most of his adult life, up until the last days of his life. Innovation and creative ideas were his driving force. I want to honor his contributions to the tile industry and to all that he inspired me to achieve.” Friends and colleagues remember Armen He is fondly remembered by many in our industry. Here are just a few of the many comments and recollections by industry members and friends. “When Armen walked through my shop door, I knew in an instant that we had a connection,” said Ron Hazelton, of Ron Hazelton Productions. “Maybe it was his engaging smile, the twinkle in his eyes, the warm assurance of his voice or his firm and confident handshake. Probably, it was all of these, but I knew in an instant that he and I would be friends. “Armen was a master crafts- man, a savvy businessman and, most of all, an appreciator of life,” Hazelton added. “He was the con- summate teacher and the videos he created have been viewed by over 1.6 million students, on our YouTube channel alone. “He had a way of making me laugh and lifting my spirits,” he said. “We shared a common love of working with our hands. I will miss Armen, but, then again, I’ll always feel he’s still here and countless others will continue to learn from him.” Daniel Helm, of Helm Construction, Greene, N.Y., said, “I met Armen Tavy on [the Global Tile Posse] page. I always thought of him as just a caricature on the package of spacers. Finding out he was an actual installer was awesome. I commented back and forth with him for a bit and next thing I knew he was sending me an autographed Tile Puck. He gave me his number and we chatted a few times about invention ideas and his political views. The guy was sharp as a tack. A homeowner recently said they had seen a video on YouTube of a guy doing tile, and I was doing it the same exact way with the mallet and puck. I knew right away it was Armen’s video. It was a nice compliment to receive…I’ll never forget him and I always keep the autographed puck where I can see it. I wish I could have met him in person. He was truly one of a kind.” Armen with Ron Hazelton. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– REMEMBERING ARMEN TAVY TileLetter | June 2018 113