He moved to Ontario, Canada following the death of his wife in 2014 and breathed his last on Apr 10, his family said.

Martin was the only Armenian living in Bangladesh. He was born on Jun 6, 1930 in Rangoon, Burma. His father was an Armenian while mother was an Iranian. His family moved to Dhaka in the 1940s and began to run a jute business.

In 1986, Martin became the custodian of Armenian Church of Holy Resurrection in Dhaka, a Greek orthodox church established in 1781 in Armanitola near Mitford Hospital. It was initially an Armenian cemetery.

Nestling in one of the busiest parts of Old Dhaka, Armenian Street used to be a thriving business area, but its Armenian community has vanished.

Little evidence remains of its presence, even though centuries ago Armenians were at the heart of Bengal's jute and leather trade.

The caretaker Martin, lovingly preserved the building against the ravages of the weather and pollution.

He kept the centuries-old births, deaths and marriages register and looked after the ancient tombstones that chronicle the history of the Armenian community in Bengal.

''Whatever happens I'm determined not to let this church go to rack and ruin,'' Martin had told BBC in an interview in 2003.

''I may be the last resident Armenian in Bangladesh, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that an Armenian from abroad takes over the job I have been doing. Otherwise centuries of tradition will disappear overnight,'' he said.