Eleonora G. Ioannidou

Eleonora G. Ioannidou, (born Maroulis), passed in eternity on Saturday April 23,2011, at 7:15 pm, in the Methodist Hospital, Houston. She was re-admitted 39 hours after was released home, as cured of illness.

Eleonora was born in Sulina, county of Tulcea, in the maritime province Dobrogea, of Romania, from parents of Greek Ancestry: Demosthenes Maroulis and Foteini Lourandou, origin from Ithaca. She was educated in Greek, Romanian and Italian schools. She spoke, read and wrote Greek, Romanian and Italian. She spoke French and Russian. In her last years she studied linguistics - the Latin-Romanian and Greek roots of Central American Spanish dialects.

Daughter and niece of wealthy merchants (Demosthenes, Antonios and Gerasimos), community and Church leaders, WWI veterans of the front lines of Romanian and Greek allied armies, from Sulina and Braila and of high sea captains, grand-daughter of Eleonora De Salerno, (Italy) she witnessed the heights of Sulina, the Winter Port of Romania, its 1st European City, (Europolis), site of the European Commission for Maritime Danube River. From Royalty and French-British customs, Sulina suffered successive occupation by the Nazi and Soviet armies.

Her brother Eustache, uncle Gerasimos and husband's cousin, George Georgiades, supplied the immigration to Palestine under the supervision of Demosthenes - the wise. Romanian Nazis sent George I. Georgiades and sister -in-law, Aphrodite, to camps, as British and Russian spies, respectively. Nazis nationalized the brother Eustace, ordered him leave and remove from the premises, war-veteran Demosthenes.

Nazis, in Greece, executed husband's 1st cousins Alexandros and Gerasimos. Their graves were identified in 2000. Cousin Paraschiv, of mother Calligas, died serving Romania. Only brother -in law, Nicolae Ivanovici, returned gravely wounded from Stalingrad.

The high see-captains of Maroulis and Lourandos gents, served the allied North-Atlantic convoys and US Army in Philippines. Were joined later in USA Army by brother -in law Nicholas.

Husband George C. Ioannides was scion of George, Greek -ship owner brother of the Sulina Port-Master, from Caesarea, (Kappadochia), established in Galati and Sulina, wood merchant to Odessa, Trapezunda and Constantinople. His wife, Cornelia, was Roman before Romania existed.

Eleonora survived World War II in refuge with cousin Stan in the house of uncle Gerasimos and aunt Maria, of Braila. Her family property was destroyed by aerial bombardments of Sulina followed by nationalization, confiscation and demolitions by a New Regime.

Parents, Eustace, in laws and cousin Stan were dispersed to Greece, USA, and Australia not permitted to return, leaving back the graves of brothers, sister and uncle Antonios.

Eleonora and husband George struggled to raise and educate two daughters and one son. She did it alone, for years, when husband was "re-educated" and thereafter relegated to work exclusively in the Danube Delta, where free men, former convicts and detainees, lived south of the Soviet Border.

George was a detainee of the Communist Regime, "disobedient", doing 1-day strikes, protestor of the nationalization of endowments of the Church he was committee member. Eleonora translated the correspondence of Romanian-Macedonians with their relatives in Greece. Romanian Secret police endowed her master bed with a visible tape recorder as a warning.

Like few, or no other, she started her Journey to Ithaca, after demolition of her home in Tulcea. At request of regime she and husband left Romania in 72 hours. This was in 1976, around the time when women retire, home. After death of her husband, in 1982, she joined her son and 1st cousin Stan in Houston.

Her uncle, General Odysseus Maroulis, was among the Founders and Endowers of the Hellenic Anti-Cancer Institute of Greece. In Houston, Eleonora assumed the mission to support cancer discoveries. She shopped, cleaned, did laundry, cooked and washed the dishes - free for the son and his wife -on the condition they discover, invent and patent. Discoveries are in Clinical Trials in American women with breast cancer. They could have not been made without her help, between 1987 and 2008, nor Constantin's PhD Thesis would have been written in classical Greek, in 1981. Her children are now accomplished scientists and professionals.

Brother Eustace in Sidney Australia preceded her in eternity. She was member of the Hellenic Annunciation Orthodox Church of Houston and of Association of Greco-Romanians.

Her journey to Ithaca is now complete, full of teachings to others and gifts to cancer therapy. Her Independence, (Independenta in Romanian), will be always remembered. She joked that descended from Odysseus. Mentor was her neighbor. Therefore, she knew better than all of us. We finally admit this as true.

The orange trees she planted, in Houston, will continue to bear fruit for her neighbors to enjoy in the years to come. Her roses bloom this spring again.

Eleonora is survived by son, Constantin, (Houston), daughters, Maria (Athens, Greece) and Fotini, (Sitia, Crete), husbands Stelianos and Emmanuel, 1st Cousin Stan Maroulis, wife Nina, nephews, Anthony, (Houston) John (California), Gary (Dallas) and their children; in Athens by cousin Eleni and nephews Ioannis and Odysseas Kollias and families.

Close friends who miss her are: Thelma Stephens and daughter Bettina, of Austin, Texas, Rosa Celis (Houston) and Gladys Celis of Miami (Florida).

Funeral Services, (Tris-Agion), will be held Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at the Annunciation Hellenic Orthodox Church, 3511 Yoakum Blvd, Houston 77006 and will be followed by Kydeia, in Athens Greece on Friday, May 6, 2011.