Kostoula Kolokithas

She was deeply loved, adored, and very much admired by her daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She was born in Greece on January 18, 1931 in the town of Vordonia near Sparta. She was a fearless, confident, warm, and very generous woman.

She was orphaned as a teenager when the rebels killed her father in the Greek Civil War, leaving her household destroyed. She would have lost her mother too had she not intervened when a rebel approached her mother with a knife. Yet despite this difficult upbringing she never lost her warmth and optimism.

She made a family of her own when she married Panayioti Kolokithas in 1953. “God blessed me with a good man and a levendi too” she would often say. Together they raised two daughters in a home filled with unconditional love, tenderness and understanding. They made the journey to America in 1967 and embraced this country with a deep appreciation. She especially embraced the freedom for women to express themselves and take credit for their contributions to their family and to society. She was never afraid to speak her mind, and with the support of her understanding husband, she was the first among her friends to wear pants. She achieved the American Dream, having worked for 11 years in a handbag factory and, after investing in real estate, retired at the age of 49.

At the age of 63 she was stricken with cancer of the tonsils and her prognosis gave her a single digit percentage for survival. As she was wheeled away for 15-hour surgery she was not expected to survive, she raised her fist and declared “nobody worry for me, I will fight like a guerrilla!” And fight she did. She came out of the hospital 6 months later disabled but victorious. With a tracheostomy on her neck and a feeding tube in her stomach she was outside playing basketball with her grandsons that same summer.

She never went to school but her creative and forward-thinking mind did not need an education to shine. She learned to read at 58 with the help of her son-in-law and she was beyond proud when at 80 years old she was able to read a book he wrote. She made friends wherever she went and approached everyone as her equal. A favorite story her family would tell is when she walked into a judge’s chamber, approached him behind his desk showing him her arm and a great smile. In her thick Greek accent, she said “Hello Mr. Judge, how are you?”. The judge stood up to take her hand and matched her smile with an even bigger one of his own.

A spirited woman, Kostoula lived life with unyielding optimism and immense gratitude. Her family was the most important thing in her life, to the point where her familial piety became a blind spot, because in Kostoula’s eyes her family could do no wrong.

Kostoula passed away at home. She is survived by her two eternally grateful daughters and sons-in-law Kathy and Charles Makris and Drs. Georgia and Lukas Konandreas; by her two granddaughters Renique Christolias and Tina Slattery, along with their husbands Dr. George Christolias and Brian Slattery; and her two grandsons Johnathan Konandreas and Peter Konandreas along with Johnathan’s wife Dr. Catherine Konandreas. She is also survived by 5 beautiful great granddaughters and was so excited to find out she was expecting a great grandson in July. She is also survived by her brother George Arvanitis, his wife Christina, and her sister-in law Panagiota Arvanitis. Finally, she leaves behind many nieces and nephews.

The funeral will be held on Monday January 31st at St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church at 51 Paramus Road in Paramus, NJ 07652. The viewing will be from 11:30 to 12:30 after which the service will begin. She will be buried at 1:30 at George Washington Memorial Cemetery.

Per her request, in lieu of flowers, please donate in her honor to your favorite charity or someone you know in need.