Mary Vardanyan, one of the last known survivors of the Armenian Genocide, has died at the age of 112. The news was announced by her granddaughter, Natalie Vardanyan, in a Facebook post.
Vardanyan was born in the city of Aintab in Cilicia. Her earliest childhood memories were marked by the horrors of the Armenian Genocide, memories that remained with her throughout her life.
Together with the surviving members of her family, she found refuge in Aleppo. She preserved the carpet weaving and handicraft traditions of Aintab, and her works were later exhibited at the museum of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias.
In 1935, she married Aintab-born violinist and composer Hovhannes Vardanyan. The couple had six children. She was widowed in 1969 and never remarried.
In 1972, Vardanyan moved to the United States with her son and settled in Watertown, where she lived for about 45 years.
