Mary Vartanian Continues to Inspire at 108 Years Old

In Aleppo, Mary explained, she never rode horses or learned to drive a car, but she did use horse-driven carriages to go places too distant to walk. Her husband eventually began driving a car in Aleppo to go to his concerts.

Mary’s parents had a telephone for important matters, and then her husband got one too. She said he needed it for his work, to book performances for special occasions such as weddings, engagements and baptisms.

Moving to the United States

In 1965, the Vartanians moved to Beirut, Lebanon in order to avoid compulsory military service in the Syrian army for their four sons.  Four years later, Hovhannes passed away, when Mary was 55 years old. She never remarried. One of their sons, Zaven, soon emigrated to the United States and settled in Watertown, Mass., and Mary and another son decided to join him in 1972. Over the next few years, the rest of her children also came to the US, with the exception of one daughter and her family, who remained in Beirut, but in the United States her children soon became scattered.

She said that she was sad and always sought the past because her children lived in different places. The same was true of her siblings, as her brother emigrated to Venezuela, a sister to Armenia, and one remained in Beirut.

In Watertown, she worked for a year at a factory assembling parts for an electrical company, and afterwards only did babysitting occasionally. She lived close to St. James Armenian Church and became an active member of its Ladies Guild. She cooked for all the luncheons as well as for the annual church bazaar. She was recognized by the Ladies Guild in June 1997 as “Mother of the Year.”

She also was involved in the Armenian General Benevolent Union and had many friends. She would always go to commemorations of the Armenian Genocide, and said that the one thing she does not want people to forget is April 24.

Aside from moving several times in her long life, Mary traveled a lot to see her scattered family. In the 1960s, she visited her sister Alice in Soviet Armenia. She went twice to Venezuela, to visit her brother Kevork. Age did not hamper her. She traveled through Europe in her 90s on a group tour, and when she was 100 years old, she went to Beirut.

Always active, she lived independently in an apartment until she was 101. She fell, broke her hip and had to go to a rehabilitation center. This led to her moving when she was 102 years old to the Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Jamaica Plain, where she continues to live today.

She has managed to survive the Covid pandemic so far, though she declared that she was initially scared because there were many deaths in her nursing home.

Secrets to a Long Life?

It’s hard not to wonder whether there is anything special she did to be able to live so long or whether it largely is genetic destiny. There is at least some aspect of the latter, since while her own mother died in her upper 80s, she related that her grandmother reached at least 100 years of age. The latter was very industrious and always remained active.

Mary said that she did not ever smoke or drink alcohol – although when her husband would drink oghi [a licorice flavored strong alcoholic drink] every once in a while for a celebration, she would drink “a drop or two.”

Her mother taught her to cook traditional Armenian meals and she did not eat a lot of meat. She ate legumes and vegetables and loved foods made with olive oil, she said. She also liked lahmajun (Armenian meat pizza) and drank coffee once a day until she moved to the nursing home, which for some reason does not offer it.

She said if there was a secret to her long life, it was that she always did two things: work and read the bible. She never exercised but always was a hard worker, cleaning, cooking and helping her sisters with their children along with raising her own. Whenever she encountered difficulties in life, she would deal with the emotions by working harder. She would read anything in Armenian, but primarily the bible. She is very religious, prays every day, and used to go to church often.

She stressed that it was her prayers and religious beliefs which sustained her through many tough periods of life, such as having malaria when she was 18 years old, being widowed with six children, or later, her daughters marrying and moving.

She enjoys Armenian music, and her favorite song is Eem Yerevan. With 13 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren, Mary advised parents not to be harsh with their children but treat them with love and sweetness.

Mary Vartanian’s counsel to readers is “to strengthen the Armenian nation, not emulate foreigners and always read the bible.”

With her warmth and humility, Vartanian continues to inspire those around her and give hope that it is indeed possible to lead a life with meaning decades past what is considered the norm.

(Raffi V. Arkun is a sophomore at Lynnfield High School in Lynnfield, MA.)