John Krikorian, publisher of Business Life magazine and for many years a leader in the community, died from heart failure. He was 80 years old, Glendale News-Press reported.

In late 2011, Krikorian suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed at a public ceremony hosted by the Glendale Fire Department. He was there to accept a “Service Above Self” award for community involvement.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to perform CPR and Krikorian recovered.

“Our family is so grateful for what the Glendale Fire Department was able to do for this extra year and a half of life,” said his son, Glendale Unified School Board member Greg Krikorian.

John Krikorian was born in Hartford, Conn., on Aug. 24, 1932, to parents orphaned by the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

From 1951 through 1953, he served as a supply sergeant for the U.S. Army, serving during the Korean War.

He married his wife, Elsie, in 1956, moving the family to Glendale in 1989.