Anita J Chiames

Anita Jean Bukilica Chiames died on September 18, 2021. She was born in 1934 in Butte, MT to Nick and Millie (Vukovich) Bukilica and moved with her family to Fresno at the age of three where she went to school, married, raised a family and made a wide circle of friends.

There were five Bukilica children, and they were a loyal and tight-knit clan that enjoyed each other’s company and were friends as much as siblings. As the middle child, Anita was often the bridge that brought everyone together, and that continued throughout her life. Anita graduated from Fresno High School and then started her career as a medical assistant. It was while working for a doctor that she met her future husband Paul and they wed in 1957. She was proud of her Serbian-Montenegrin heritage and then adopted Paul's Greek culture as well, and she was an active member of the parish life of both St. Peter Serbian Orthodox Church and St. George Greek Orthodox Church. She was a founding member of the Serbian Mothers Club, a member of the Athena Philoptochos Society, a long-time Sunday School teacher, and chaired various committees of the Fresno Greek Food Festival.

Anita and Paul had three children – Chris, Paul and Terese – and the Chiames household became a hub of activity for their children's friends, cousins and extended family. And there were always freshly baked cookies, cakes and pies. Anita loved to entertain and inherited her mother's genes that made her a wonderful cook. She annually hosted a children’s Christmas party for dozens of family friends that included a visit from Santa, and every family holiday dinner table routinely was set for 30-plus people, always including a few extra friends with no plans. She was the first to volunteer to help with a meal or cook for school, church, or a friend or family member who needed a hand. She always won at cards, whether pinochle with her dad and siblings, or Kings in the Corner with her husband and grandchildren. Anita loved the beach, and the family spent many summers in Santa Cruz, as well as memorable, extended trips to visit family across the country and in Europe. As the Chiames family grew and dispersed, the travel was all about seeing her grandchildren.

Anita was predeceased by her parents, her husband Paul and daughter Terese Caire, and siblings and spouses Helene and Warner Morgan, Jeanne and Bud Taylor, Jim and Sophia Nicolaou and Bob Bukilica. She is survived by her son Chris and his wife Pennie, son Paul, son-in-law John Caire and her brother Michael Bukilica and his wife Lorraine. She wanted nothing more in life than to be a mother, and then a Baba, and she adored her four grandchildren who also survive her, Christina Chiames, Natalie Chiames, Maria Caire and John Paul Caire. She is also survived by her siblings by marriage, Sally Bukilica and Marcia Taylor, her adopted sons Todd Yingling and his wife Suzanne, and Dean Rosander, and his wife Karen, and nieces, nephews and beloved family in Fresno, Bakersfield, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Massachusetts, Greece and Montenegro, and four-legged divas Maddie, Petunia and Roxy.

The Chiames family would also like to acknowledge her kind and amazing companions the last several years, led by Dean and Karen, and supported by Maria, Rose, Anna, Elizabeth and Rebecca, as well as Pat Caire, Myrna Taul, Aggie Capriotti and her niece and godchild Gina Kazanjian. They made sure her last years were spent surrounded by love and dignity.

A funeral service will be held Thursday, September 30 at St. George Greek Orthodox, 2219 N. Orchard, Fresno 93704. The family will welcome guests for coffee and fellowship before the service in the church courtyard from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, with the funeral service at 11:00 am, and then a private family burial at Belmont Memorial Gardens. The Chiames family asks that masks be worn to keep everyone healthy. Anita would want nothing more than for her family and friends to stay safe during these times. The service will also be broadcast online at the St. George Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stgeorgegreekorthodoxchurch. Given the current pandemic conditions, the family will donate to the Poverello House hunger and nutrition program, a favorite charity of Anita’s, rather than host the traditional makaria luncheon celebration. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Peter Serbian Orthodox Church or St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Fresno.

We will miss her dearly but are comforted to know she is at peace and that her boundless love for her family and friends will stay with us. May her memory be eternal, and may her family and friends cherish fond memories, and share a heartfelt laugh over coffee and dessert thinking about Paul and Anita.