Asdghig “Starrie” Alemian, one of the last Armenian Genocide survivors in Massachusetts and a strong presence at every Genocide commemoration at the State House, died on September 5, 2019 at the age of 109.

She was a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, which took the lives of her parents and brothers, leaving her orphaned at age 5. She lived in an orphanage in Syria until 12 years old when her uncle Garabed Tetezian assisted her and her sister Anna in coming to the United States, the Armenian Mirror Spectator reported.

Starrie worked alongside her husband in running Alemian’s Delicatessen for more than 30 years.

Beginning in the 1980s, Alemian was honored yearly at the State House for Armenian Martyrs Day.