OBITUARIES : State Prison Official N.A. Chaderjian

SACRAMENTO — N.A. (Chad) Chaderjian, secretary of the state Youth and Adult Correctional Agency and chairman of the Board of Corrections, died of heart failure Thursday night on an airplane flight to the capital, authorities said. He was 60.

Chaderjian died aboard a USAir flight from San Diego to Sacramento. He was thought to be sleeping until the plane taxied to a halt and he could not be awakened.

He was flown to the University Medical Center in Sacramento, where he was pronounced dead. Chaderjian’s personal physician said he suffered from severe coronary artery disease, according to the Sacramento County coroner’s office.

Key State Role

A cabinet member since the beginning of Gov. George Deukmejian’s Administration in 1983, Chaderjian headed the state’s 70,000-inmate system, the largest in the nation, during a time of severe overcrowding.

Craig Brown, undersecretary of the state Youth and Adult Correctional Agency, temporarily will take over the duties of the office, Kevin Brett, the governor’s press secretary, said.

Deukmejian said: “I will remember Chad as a dear friend, whom I have known since childhood. He was a truly dedicated public servant and his loss will be felt by all who knew him.”

The governor was notified of the death while changing planes in Sydney, Australia, where he is on a two-week trade mission to Pacific Rim countries. Deukmejian will not return early for the funeral, Brett said.

Career Officer

Named as prison chief in December, 1982, Chaderjian was a career probation officer and vice chairman of the Board of Prison Terms during the Administration of former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.

He served as a member of the state’s parole board from 1976 to 1982 and as a court liaison officer for the Fresno County Probation Department from 1965 to 1976.

Chaderjian also served in the Navy during World War II and the Army during the Korean War. He received a B.A. degree in psychology from Syracuse University. He is survived by a sister, Lucy Chaderjian of Fresno.