The Life of Malcolm Stuart Demurjian
Malcolm S. Demurjian
Malcolm Stuart Demurjian, passed away peacefully on Monday afternoon, September 19,
2022 – his 98 th birthday – with friends and family at his side.
Malcolm was an incredibly healthy man for his first 96 years, but started to decline after his
beloved wife of 64 years, Seta, passed away in 2020. Even with an aged body and weakened
heart, he was still enjoying dinners out and loving life with his grandkids – until a massive heart
attack in mid-August initiated a downward spiral that kept him in the hospital and then post-
acute rehab for a solid month. He came home on Saturday, supported by hospice services and a
live-in home health aide, so he could be with his equally aged dog Ricco, see friends and
neighbors, and rest among his memories of Seta.
Malcolm had a brilliant analytical mind and an unconditionally loving heart. He attended New
York City’s legendary LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, skipped two grades and started
college at age 16, joined the Navy to fight in World War II as soon as he turned 18, and returned
from Iwo Jima in 1946 to earn his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from UNC Chapel Hill and
his Master’s degree from Columbia University. Malcolm played a pivotal role on the Whirlwind
Computer Project at MIT for four years, before being recruited by DuPont to lead the 62-person
team that set up DuPont’s first general purpose digital computer. Five years later, Malcolm
joined RCA’s corporate staff as an internal management consultant, during which he served on
task forces for three different Governors – Ronald Reagan in California, Edgar Whitcomb in
Indiana, and William Cahill in New Jersey. Refusing to relocate his family from South Jersey,
Malcolm changed careers and worked as a stockbroker for what is now Wells Fargo until he was
87.
Malcolm’s work ethic didn’t wind down on the weekends, as he could fix just about anything in
his home, on his cars (all Chryslers), or at the Haddontowne Swim Club he co-founded. He was
also an avid gardener and music lover with season tickets to the Metropolitan Opera and the
Philadelphia Orchestra. Yet, above it all, was a boundless love for his immediate and extended
family. There was nothing Mal wouldn’t do – in time or money – to help those he loved.
Malcolm will be sorely missed by many friends and neighbors, but especially by his son Stuart,
son Warren and daughter-in-law Amy, grandchildren Aubrey and Teddy, loving niece
LindaCarol, six admiring nephews Harry, Richard, David, Michael, Luca, and Claudio, and his
brother-in-law, Mario Norcen.
Malcolm lived a full and vibrant life, clobbered the actuarial tables, and closed the book on his
own terms. May we all be so lucky.
His soul will be blessed by St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church at 10:30 AM on Saturday,
September 24 th , at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, when he is laid to rest alongside his
siblings, Lorna and Bobby, and his parents, Gabriel and Armine. Malcolm’s life, along with that
of his deceased wife of 64 years, Seta, will be celebrated during Thanksgiving weekend.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations in his name will be gratefully received by the Philadelphia
Orchestra https://www.philorch.org/donate/#/levels/ or Natural Lands Trust
https://natlands.org/support/commemorative-gifts/.