Victoria was born in 1913, the youngest of three children of Minas and Haiganoush Zakarian Proodian (Ehtizabian/Ehdizasbian). She had a brother Ohannes and a sister Elizabeth. Shortly after her birth, her father was drafted into the Turkish army in 1915 and was never seen again, and was likely murdered shortly after as were the rest of the draftees. The women, children, and elderly were rounded up and led on a death march in what was the Armenian Genocide. The next year, some surviving deportees returned to Arapkir and as life had been completely disrupted there, the survivors faced severe illness and famine. When Victoria was five years old, her mother became ill and took to her bed, and Victoria was at her side when she passed away. Her daughter said the cause of her death was starvation, as her mother had given what little food there was to her children. At that time, Victoria and her 7-year-old brother, Ohannes, were placed in an orphanage. As her sister was twelve years old, she went to live with relatives where she could be helpful in the household. Victoria and Ohannes later left Turkey, spent three years in Aleppo, Syria, and then traveled by boat to Havana, Cuba where they lived for two years. It was there that they were reunited with their sister Elizabeth, and Victoria was present at one of the few joyful memories of her life – Elizabeth's wedding in Havana to Robert Paroonagian. Victoria's uncle Mesak Zakarian brought her and Ohannes, then 15 and 17, to Philadelphia. He adopted them and gave them his last name. Victoria worked as a seamstress in a factory and went to night school to learn English. She married Setrak Basmajian, also from Arapkir, who had been living in Montreal, Canada. They had two daughters. Setrak and Victoria Basmajian were faithful members of Holy Trinity Church until their deaths.