One of the Last Living Armenian Genocide Survivors, Mary Vartanian, Dies at 112
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The Armenian people have lost one of the last living witnesses to the Armenian Genocide.
Mary Vartanian, a survivor of the genocide whose life spanned more than a century of Armenian history, has died at the age of 112. Her passing is the loss of another firsthand witness to one of the 20th century's greatest atrocities.
Born in Aintab in 1914, Vartanian was still an infant when the Armenian Genocide began. Between 1915 and 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed through mass executions, forced deportations and starvation under the Ottoman Empire. She survived and went on to build a life defined by family, faith and resilience.
Her granddaughter, Natalie Vartanian, announced her passing in a heartfelt Facebook post, thanking people for the overwhelming support her family has received.
"I have been so unbelievably moved by the outpouring," Natalie wrote.
She also reflected on her family's journey across generations. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Natalie said her parents met there after immigrating separately to the United States. Today, members of the Vartanian family remain in Massachusetts, while others live in Lebanon, California and Venezuela.
"Feeling proud of my lineage — the strength and the beauty," she wrote.
After escaping the genocide, Mary Vartanian married violinist and composer Hovhannes Vartanian. The couple lived in Aleppo and later Beirut before immigrating to the United States in 1967, where they settled in Watertown, Massachusetts.
She spent her years in America working in a factory, raising her children and remaining active in the Armenian Church. Those closest to her said she lived with quiet humility, deep faith and an unwavering commitment to helping others. She often credited her long life to prayer, discipline and putting her family before herself.
In her final years, Vartanian lived at the Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Staff members remembered her for her warmth and kindness, saying she welcomed visitors with blown kisses and a smile that rarely faded.
In April 2024, she was honored at the Massachusetts State House during the annual Armenian Genocide commemoration. At 109 years old, she received a standing ovation from lawmakers in recognition of both her survival and her lifelong contributions to the Armenian American community.
Vartanian is survived by six children, 15 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
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