Violet "Vi" Baratian, 101, New York City

MASSENA --  We are sad to announce the passing of our beloved Aunt “Vi” Violet Baratian in New York City on August 17, 2024. She was 101 years old.

Vi passed away at home in her apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

She had been hospitalized for brief periods over the past several months due to difficulties resulting from a congenital heart condition and Covid.

Following her discharge from the hospital in July she entered home hospice care. In her final days Vi received many calls from her family expressing their love and care for her.

Vi was predeceased by her four siblings: Mary Williams, Sue Hamamjian, Vic Baratian, and Jenny Sellers; and her nephew, Seb Hamamjian.

She is survived by her sister-in-law, Kathy Keating Baratian, 11 remaining nieces and nephews, and 16 grand nieces and nephews.

Vi was dogged about living a healthy lifestyle. She was very focused on maintaining proper nutrition and she read extensively on the topic.

She walked more than 2.5 miles every day to and from her work as an executive assistant at the Standard Oil Company of America, now ExxonMobil. She would walk from her apartment at 1st Avenue and 81st Street to her office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the home of the famous Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, golden statue of Prometheus, and skating rink.

Vi retired from Exxon in her early 60’s after more than 25 years with the company.

Family including siblings, nieces, nephews, and others would sometimes visit Vi in the big city and she would entertain them according to their interests.

Highlights included a performance at Radio City Music Hall or the broadcast of a TV show at the studios of “30 Rock”, a Broadway show, a visit to the top of the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim or Whitney, the Museum of Natural History, an eclectic variety of restaurants, and much more.

If you were at least 18 years old, you would almost certainly have joined Vi for cocktails before dinner. (She famously enjoyed a cocktail or two— Scotch and water on the rocks being her libation of choice.) Vi was the quintessential New Yorker.

During both her career and retirement years, Vi enjoyed domestic and international travel that included destinations within the U.S., Canada, and Europe. One of her most memorable trips was to Armenia, the land of our ancestors.

She enjoyed recalling her travels while looking at the world map that decorated her bathroom shower curtain and would point out the places she had visited.

Vi was an avid reader. She enjoyed reading so much that she would often read the same book multiple times, leaving a marker each time she did so.

Her indisputable favorite author was Jane Austen, the author of Pride and Prejudice, Vi’s favorite book. Jane Austen is credited with having created a path forward for future generations of women writers because she wrote at a time when women’s voices were seldom heard, much less encouraged. She was an inspiration to Vi, who was herself an independent and uniquely plainspoken woman living life on her own terms.

Armenia! April 2010 photo by George Hamamjian, Vi also had a longtime interest in creative pursuits, whether decorating the family home or her own apartment during the holidays, making small ceramic items by hand, or decorating an empty paint can for use as a decorative canister.

She was particularly proud of her efforts in oil painting and knitting, having created many complex articles of clothing for herself and the family.

One Christmas she knitted sweater vests for each of her siblings and all twelve of her nieces and nephews. She even taught knitting to other residents at Carnegie House.

Vi was very happy and comfortable during her nearly 15 years at Carnegie House. She loved the view from her 17th floor apartment overlooking the East River and beyond.

Every day breakfast was delivered to her room, and she would enjoy lunch and dinner in the dining room. Vi’s favorite meal was a cheeseburger and the servers in the Carnegie dining room knew her food preferences well.

They would happily provide a cheeseburger if they thought the item featured on the menu would not be to her liking. (She did not like sauces…. except for hot fudge. Vi enjoyed Chocolate in all of its forms.)

Everyone at Carnegie House treated Vi with kindness and respect. In fact, they became like family to her and cared for her as if she was theirs. She had a good life there.

Eras are defined by the lives that give them meaning. Vi’s passing marks the end of an era for our family.

She was the last of her generation and the repository for many of our family’s stories and history. She will be dearly missed.

It seems appropriate to close with the first verse from Vi’s favorite song, My Way by Frank Sinatra.

And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I'll say it clear I'll state my case, of which I'm certain I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway and more, much more than this I did it my way.

There will be no public calling hours or services at this time.

Burial to take place in Pine Grove Cemetery, Massena at the convenience of the family at a later date.

Family and friends may share condolence, memories and photos of Vi, by visiting www.PhillipsMemorial.com.