JAMAICA PLAIN, Mass. — Born on August 17, 1914, in Aintab, Turkey (in historic Cilicia) to Hagop and Maritsa Ouzghoushian, Mary Ouzghoushian Vartanian was the eldest of four children. She had two sisters, Alice and Ani, and their brother Kevork. At the tender age of eight, she and her family were forced to flee their homeland overnight during the severe mass exodus of all remaining Armenians of Ainteb and to seek refuge in Aleppo, Syria. She attended Armenian school until grade 6 at the Grtasirats Armenian School in Aintab. During her youth she would spend her time doing crocheting and needle work. Mary was also very skilled at carpet weaving in the original Armenian traditional patterns of Aintab. Though she lost the homeland of her birth, she never lost her identity. She carried her homeland in her heart every day of her life.
In Syria, she met the love of her life, the renowned violinist and composer, Hovannes Vartanian. Hovhannes, like his own father, was a talented violinist and also a composer. He performed for the Armenian Radio of Aleppo and was eventually awarded the Syrian National Medal of Recognition for his musical achievements. His career took him across the Middle East, where he frequently performed. Mary was immensely proud of her husband’s achievements. Together they built a beautiful family and were blessed with six children — four sons and two daughters, Sarkis, Zaven, Garbis, Flora, Lisa and Avedis.
In the late 1960s, the family moved to Beirut, Lebanon. During that time, she had the opportunity to travel to Yerevan, Armenia which had been a lifetime dream for her. But life once again tested Mary’s strength. Within a few short years, her beloved husband passed away, leaving her a widow. Many people would have been broken by such hardships. But not Mary. She was a woman of extraordinary courage, resilience, and faith. She carried her burdens with dignity and continued forward with determination and love for her family.
When two of her sons immigrated to the United States, Mary soon followed them in 1972 to Watertown, Massachusetts. Later, in 1976 her daughter and her husband, Hagop and Lisa Darian and children, also settled there. Although her sons eventually relocated to California, Mary chose to remain in Watertown, where she laid down her roots and built a life centered around faith, family, and service. She lived independently for decades, devoted to her daughter Lisa and her grandchildren, and her beloved church family at Saint James Armenian Church, the Ladies Guild, and the AGBU Ladies Guild.
Mary loved to travel. She never missed an opportunity to visit those she loved — whether it meant flying to California to see her sons and her sister Alice and all their families, returning to Lebanon to visit the families of daughter Flora Khederian and her sister Ani Tavitian or traveling all the way to Venezuela to spend time with her brother, Kevork Ouzghoushian and his family. Even in her early nineties, her adventurous spirit never faded. She traveled throughout Europe with the AGBU Ladies Guild, embracing every opportunity to see the world. At the age of 100, she traveled with her daughter, Lisa and son-in-law Hagop, to visit their daughter, Jeanine and her husband Raffi Shememian’s family for the Christmas holidays.
Mary was a resident of Watertown for 45 years. Always active, she lived by herself until she was 101. After a fall, she decided to move into the Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center where she was beloved by fellow residents and staff.
