Toula was born March 5, 1931 in Nemea Greece to Sophia & Panayotti Hahami as the oldest child and grew up along with her sister Koula and brother Demetri. Her family endured some hardship during the World War II German occupation of Greece as well as during the Greek Civil War that followed. Consequently, in 1951, Toula immigrated to the United States and eventually settled in San Francisco with relatives. In 1953, Toula moved to Fresno to be with an ailing uncle and met Christ Tsaris, who ironically also immigrated to the United States in 1951. Toula and Christ married in 1954 in Fresno and were married for 43 years until Christ’s death in 1997.
Toula and Christ lovingly raised three children; Tom, Peter and Sophia. Toula spent most of her time as a homemaker, alongside Christ in the local restaurant industry and, after the children were grown, taught the Greek language to private individuals and also at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno.
Toula had strong faith and loved her 65 year involvement with the St. George Greek Orthodox Church community, regularly singing in the choir and being intimately involved with the Church’s ‘Golden Agers’ program. Family was always pivotal in Toula’s life and she greatly enjoyed spending time with grandson Christopher Tsaris and great-grandson Rex Tsaris.
Toula’s life and legacy can be described by one of her favorite Greek sayings: ‘Epimoni’ & ‘Ypomoni’ (Persistence & Patience). ‘Eonia i mnimi’ (May her memory be eternal)!
A visitation for Toula will be held Friday, July 5, 2019 from 12:00 am to 7:00 pm at Lisle Funeral Home, 1605 L Street, Fresno, CA 93721.
A graveside service will occur Saturday, July 6, 2019 at 9:30 am at Fresno Memorial Gardens, 175 S. Cornelia Ave, Fresno, CA 93706.
