Pota Johnson

Pota was born July 27th, 1933, in Chelan, WA and lived in Azwell, WA for a short time. Pota then moved with her parents Athanasios and Madeline Koulouris to Rock Island Road in East Wenatchee, WA. Her parents had immigrated from Greece in 1931. In East Wenatchee they discovered other Greek families that have resulted in lifelong friendships. There the family, including brothers Gust and Spiros raised animals and had a successful orchard growing apples and cherries. The children took on jobs and extra chores at a young age. That became necessary when Pota's father died in an accident shortly after her 13th birthday.

Pota graduated from Wenatchee High School in 1951 and went to business school to pursue the secretarial field. After graduating, she worked for a fashion shop, Farmers Exchange and an insurance company, all in Wenatchee.

Pota then moved to Seattle in 1962 to pursue her career in the city. There she worked at Boeing in the Security department as a secretary. She also worked as a secretary for WA State Department of Labor and Industry and WA State Department of Revenue as an Executive Secretary.

At the Department of Revenue, she met the love of her life Jim Johnson who was a state auditor. They were married in 1970 and lived in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle where they had their first son Thomas. Pota and Jim decided to grow their family and moved to Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood in 1971. There they raised their two boys, Thomas and David.

Pota kept busy raising her two sons, running her own summer school teaching her boys how to type, sew, even needlepoint, all with plenty of trips to the Magnolia library. She was also committed to several volunteer activities. She volunteered at Our Lady of Fatima school taking kids on field trips in her 1968 Ford Country Sedan station wagon which had four pop up seats for children in the back. It was always a rush for the kids to ride with Pota and get to those cool seats! Pota also volunteered in the O’Dea High School library for several years. When her sons left home, Pota worked at Kueckelhan, Crutcher & Co., a CPA firm in Queen Anne doing office work.

Pota and her husband Jim also liked to travel staying in time shares across the country including their favorite in Hawaii. She enjoyed visiting her brothers and friends in Wenatchee and especially enjoyed a trip to Greece with her brother Spiro to visit their Greek relatives.

Pota was well liked by many and loved to talk to people. She was a people person who was interested in hearing about what was going on in your life. Her interest in the people she met resulted in many long friendships. She was also a determined person who would pursue whatever currently interested her.

She had a passion for flowers, particularly rose bushes, and all nature; tending her own garden and the landscaping around her house while also feeding and enjoying the wildlife that lived in the neighborhood. She immensely enjoyed celebrating holidays with her family and she had decorations for every one of them. She was her happiest at these times, surrounded by loved ones. Her family was always very important to her. She formed special bonds with all her family – Jim, Thomas, David, Meeko, Eva and all her extended family and friends.

Pota was a devout Greek Orthodox Christian. She was a member of St. Demetrios church in the Montlake neighborhood since she moved to Seattle. Even when she was in East Wenatchee the family would drive to St Demetrios on church holidays. When not working, she volunteered in the office and other church projects. She also assisted with the church’s annual festival and once while helping bake large sheets of baklava was on the local news TV show about the festival. Attending the festival was always an annual family event which often brought her brothers and family from Wenatchee to join in the fun. Her faith meant a lot to her even giving up meat and eating seafood on Wednesdays and Fridays for most of her life (and she did not like most seafood!). Pota’s strong faith which was developed over her many years attending St Demetrios helped make her the devout caring person she was. She was selfless, loving and supportive; helping others gave her great joy, manifesting itself in her volunteer work and donations throughout her entire life and in those relationships she made with other people.

Pota is survived by her husband James, sons Thomas (Jennie) and David (Tawnee), granddaughter Eva and many extended family and friends. She was predeceased by brothers Gust and Spiros Koulouris.

Pota passed away quietly on February 16, 2022, after a short battle with cancer.

The funeral service will be held at St Demetrios Church on March 10th at 11AM.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Demetrios Church, 2100 Boyer Ave E, Seattle, WA 98112

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Johnson family.