Elias Ilya Kosta, 92, of Cary, formerly of Sarasota, Florida, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 2, 2019. Elias was born in Istanbul, Turkey on May 1, 1927. He and his first wife, Rita M. Kosta came to the United States in the 1950's and settled in Queens, NY, where they raised their two daughters, Melina Maria and Marianna Christina.
In 1985, he was remarried to Zoya Kosta and they resided in Sarasota, Florida from 1993 until 2016. In 2016, they moved to Cary to be closer to his daughter and her family. Elias earned his Masters in Civil Engineering while in Turkey. He worked as a civil engineer, specializing in highway and suspension bridge design for Pavlo Engineering Company in NY, NY. Some of the bridges he helped design were the Chester-Bridgeport Bridge across the Delaware River; Founders Bridge in Hartford, CT.; the Silver Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River in West Virginia. He also helped design the Belt Parkway Viaduct in Brooklyn, NY and portions of the Staten Island Expressway in Staten Island, NY.
He was a long-time active member of St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church in Sarasota, FL.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Melina Maria Kosta; two sisters, Sophia Kosta, MD and Melpo Papachristos; and a step-grandson, Luke Kuryluk.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Zoya Kosta; his daughter, Marianna C. Montana and her husband, John Holder of Cary; 3 granddaughters, Margaret, Amelia and Lily Montana; 3 step-grandchildren, Samuel, David and Allison Holder; and his first wife, Rita M. Kosta of Raleigh.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 8th from 6-8pm, with a Trisagion Prayer service at 7pm at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 5000 Leadmine Rd. Raleigh, NC. A funeral service will be held at Holy Trinity on Thursday at 10:00 am, followed by burial at Raleigh Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Barbara Greek Orthodox Church, 7671 Lockwood Ridge Rd. Sarasota, Florida 34243.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC.
