Evangelia Pitenis

Evangelia “Leela” Pitenis was born in Kozani, Greece and grew up in Flushing & Bayside, Queens before moving to her dream apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park West with her sister, Konstantina “Dina” Pitenis.

Leela had a passion for the entertainment industry, daytime drama, old Hollywood movies (she could never watch Casablanca enough times), Broadway, Disney (especially Cinderella and Ariel), music and the New York Yankees. Her love (aka obsession) with the CW’s “Beauty & the Beast” brought her treasured friendships with her fellow Beasties from South Africa, the Netherlands, the UK, Europe, Canada & the US. A proud member of the Television Academy and the Directors Guild of America, Leela launched her career on the production staff at “One Life to Live” before serving in various Producing roles at “As the World Turns.” There she found more ‘family’ as her “OLTL” and “ATWT” colleagues and their families remained her lifelong friends.

When she wasn’t working, Leela could be found cheering on her favorite baseball team at Yankee Stadium, attending screenings at the DGA Theater and FYC events, theater (on & off-Broadway) and concerts, or her favorite thing — meals with family and friends. She was a great cook and baker and threw fabulous Oscar parties. She also loved winning the Oscars (or any other award show) pool annually. Her showbiz and baseball knowledge made her an encyclopedia on the subjects and hard to beat at trivia.

Known as the perfect gift-giver, Leela would spend as much as half an hour picking out the right Hallmark card because every person was special to her. Her smile, grace and unaffected charm endeared her to all she met, with strangers quickly becoming friends. Leela was also the first to help in a crisis or even with daily tasks — anything to make other people’s lives easier.

Leela is survived by her loving parents, Tassos and Kate, and her “Little Sister” Dina. She also leaves behind her beloved Uncle Nick in NYC and Aunt Rita in Greece, her cherished goddaughters Angeliki & Alexandra and honorary goddaughter Julia along with her loving cousins around the world. The love she gave us all will never leave us. May her memory be eternal.

In Lieu of Flowers the Pitenis family would appreciate donations in memory of Evangelia Pitenis to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. https://www.stjude.org/donate