Maria Sakellaris

Maria’s life was truly one that was commonplace from the Greatest Generation. Born November 14th, 1930, to George and Panagiota Meletis, she grew up in Vassara, a small village outside of Sparta in the southern part of Greece. Her father owned the local olive oil factory, and her mother was a school teacher. She survived the crushing German occupation in Greece during World War II, only to live through the devastating consequences of the Greek Civil War. She moved to Athens in the 1950s and settled into life there until she encountered an opportunity to immigrate to North America to work in Montreal, Quebec.

After only 3 months in Montreal, Maria’s aunt corresponded with the mother of Pantelis Sakellaris, a man also from her village in Greece, who had settled in Washington, DC. They arranged a meeting in Montreal, and Pantelis drove the 10 hours from Washington to Montreal to meet Maria. Within a week, they were engaged. On October 4th, 1959 they were married at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington.

They settled in Silver Spring, Maryland, where they would spend the next 47 years together. Oldest daughter Pauline was born in 1960, followed by their son Larry in 1963, and youngest daughter Georgette in 1968. Maria was a homemaker for her entire adult life, constantly doting on her husband and her 3 children.

Vacations were an important part of her life, and her love of history was not lost in her travels. There were 2 ambitious vacations: one was driving across the US with their children in the family station wagon, and the other was traveling through Europe.

As her children grew older and her husband took a step back from full-time work, Pantelis and Maria traveled on cruises throughout the Caribbean, and made 2 more trips to their homeland. However, their favorite place to go was their beach house in Ocean City, Maryland. The beach house was their happy place and was always open to family and guests.

She was a member of St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, and loved being a part of that special community. Maria was famous for her cooking, especially her Greek pastries. Her recipes for Baklava and Thiples particularly stood out, and were always a staple at any celebration within the extended family. Her unique take on the English language was well known among her immediate family and friends. Her kindness and empathy carried through to everyone she met, as was her smile and generosity.

Beloved wife of 47 years to her late husband Pantelis, she is survived by her children Georgette (nee Sakellaris) Cardona and Larry Sakellaris; son–in-law Dennis Jiffas; adored grandmother to Nicholas and Maria Jiffas, Mariah, Pantelis, and Vasilia Sakellaris, and Pantelis Cardona. Also surviving is her sister, Eleni Lolos, and countless family and friends.

She is preceded in death by her loving daughter, Pauline Jiffas, her brother, Takis (Georgia) Meletis, and her sister, Sophia (Anargyros) Gavrilis.

A visitation will be held on Friday, October 28, 2022 from 11:30AM to 12:30PM, followed by a funeral service starting at 12:30PM at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, 2815 36th St NW, Washington, DC 20007. if you are unable to attend, the family would also like to invite you to watch via Live-Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPGbPwX8oUM

Interment will be held on Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 1:00PM at gate of Heaven cemetery, Silver Spring, MD.