Afrodite Cominos

Afrodite Cominos (born Afrodite Petratos) was born August 16, 1926 (?) in a small mountain village on the island of Kefalonia, Greece.

She was one of 11 siblings, though only 7 survived into adulthood. Her early life was one of hardship; caught between the unpredictability of a father when he drank and the incredible warm love and kindness of her mother. During World War II, the island of Kefalonia was occupied at first by Italian troops which were allied with Nazi Germany. In 1943 the Germans took over and occupied the island till the end of the war. During this time Afrodite was a young teen. Her parents did their best to hide her and her little sister, Mary, trying to protect them from harm. The family suffered from hunger and a brother was killed during the war. Afrodite never divulged too many details about this difficult time, but over the years she shared just enough for us to know the lasting impact it had on her.

Afrodite continued to live in the village until she was in her early twenties, when she finally moved to Athens. There she lived with her uncle in a beautiful and affluent Athenian neighborhood. She often recalled how much she loved her life in the city, how much fun she had, sneaking out of her uncle’s home at night to go to parties and be with new friends. She met and fell in love with a man her age and was engaged to be married. But her life was about to be severely upended.

It was at this time that an old acquaintance of her father’s, Peter Cominos, contacted him. Peter had moved to Seattle, Washington as a young man. He was from Kefalonia and was close in age to Afrodite’s father, nearly 60. He had never married and had decided that it was time to finally get married in order to have children. He told Afrodite’s father he would like to marry his oldest daughter. Her father agreed, and she was forced to break off her engagement to the man she loved. The more she argued and fought that she did not want this, the more harsh pressure was applied. She had no choice but to return to the village and marry a stranger; a man nearly 35 years her senior. Peter returned to the village from Seattle and married Afrodite. It was 1953 when Afrodite, by no choice of her own, left behind her family, her friends, her country and the man she loved, to live in a foreign land with a man very much her senior who she knew nothing about. When she arrived in Seattle she did not understand or speak a word of English.

Only a few months after Afrodite had moved to the US, the island of Kefalonia suffered a catastrophic earthquake. It devastated most of the island, particularly the mountain villages. Tragically, Afrodite’s family home, made of stone, as most homes were, collapsed in the earthquake, killing her mother. Afrodite was not able to return to Greece for her mother’s funeral. She had received just one lone letter from her mother between her departure for the US and her mother’s death. Angie kept that letter safe, knowing how precious it must have been to her mother. The letter is now with Afrodite, sheets of fragile paper all these years later that were touched by the hands of her beloved mother.

Though Afrodite resisted having children with her husband because of his advanced age, she had her firstborn son, Peter Jr., in 1954 and by 1958 she had 3 children. Her worst fear came to pass when her husband Peter died in 1961, leaving her with 3 young children to raise and a tavern to run on 1st Avenue and Spring St. in downtown Seattle, an area that in those days was called Skid Row, where its patrons were less than desirable on a good day. Afrodite ran the tavern on her own for 2 years before closing the business. It was during this time she sponsored her brother Nick to come to the US and help her with the tavern. Soon after, she sponsored her sister to come to the US and finally she did not feel quite so alone.

Afrodite was a survivor. Despite all this hardship, she was an amazing woman, with incredible fortitude. She went to school, while working and raising 3 children, so that she could read and write English. She learned to drive, and she studied hard and received her naturalization papers shortly after. Regardless of the hardships in her past that would surely have changed most people, she remained extremely loving, caring and warm. She had the biggest heart and there was room for everyone. Her children enthusiastically agree that she was the best mother anyone could ask for. She was an amazing single mom at a time when there were few. Afrodite was fun and outgoing. She was funny, extremely sociable and the life of the party. She loved, most of all, to make people laugh and to make sure they went home still laughing and smiling.

On the flip side, she was extraordinarily strong-minded, never shying from speaking her truth. She was a tough lady who taught her only daughter to be the same. She carried herself with dignity and grace. She led by example, teaching her daughter to “never depend on anyone but yourself for survival”. The mantra she imparted to Angie was: “Always make sure you can take care of yourself, even if you are married and happy. You never know when life will suddenly change.” From a young age, Afrodite would sit her daughter down with her at the kitchen table every week, and teach her how to pay bills, how to budget, and, most importantly, the importance of independence.

Afrodite’s skies were not without dark clouds. Her tribulations continued throughout her life, but she just remained focus on living her life with love and showering attention on her children. She remained in the Fremont home she loved for 60 years. She was active in the church life of St. Demitrios, attending church every Sunday, although admittedly, she loved to sneak out of the service to prepare for coffee hour and talk and laugh with friends. She spent decades helping in preparations for the annual Greek Festival. For many years, she prepared and served the Greek coffee during the festival (her children loved to get her riled up, saying it was Turkish coffee, just served by a Greek). The church and the Greek community continued to be a large part of her life until it became physically too difficult to attend. On those Sundays that she could not get to church she would say ‘I didn’t go; the devil won again’, and then she’d laugh until you couldn’t help but laugh with her.

Afrodite was a woman extraordinary in how comfortable she made everyone feel and how easy it was to share life’s ups and downs with her. She will be remembered as a woman of great wisdom, full of good ideas for how to live a well-lived life. She always led with love, never judging, and never shocked at what life can bring upon a person.

We won’t mention the sharp Poker player that she was, playing Texas Hold ‘Em until she was nearly 90 years old.

At the end of her days, we can say this for certain: although her life was full of challenges, none could dim the bright light that was Afrodite. She brought love, laughter, and joy to all she called family and friends.

Afrodite Cominos passed away in the presence of her children on Sunday, April 26th. She lived to be 93 years old, or so we think. (The jury’s still out and most likely we will never know for certain. We are certain that she is still laughing about leaving us guessing all these years later).

She leaves behind her adored children: Peter, Nicolas (with Gina), and Angelina.

Afrodite’s beam of love will shine on in the light of her life, her granddaughter, Alexa.

She also leaves behind her younger sister and best friend, Mary Malesis and her brother, Andreas Petratos.

We will miss this woman, Afrodite, our own goddess of love. But we will treasure her deeply in our hearts forever.

Visitation will be held Thursday April 30th from 9-4 at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home. Private family services will be held at a later date.

A large celebration of Afrodite's life will be held for friends and family at a later date in time.