Minnesota, and Nebraska, graduating from Hastings High. She was the oldest of five children
and took on a motherly role for her siblings even at an early age. This caring for others was a
perfect segue into her pursuit of a nursing degree at The University of Denver. After graduation
she returned to Hastings. Emy met the man of her dreams, who happened to be “the
best-looking man in town”, Vassilios Kosmas while living in Hastings. Their romance turned into
marriage and they had three beautiful girls to complete their family. They moved to Chicago
soon after they married and lived there the rest of their lives. The girls, in order, were Mary,
Susan, and Karen. Over the years, friends turned the name Emagene into a few of their own
favorite versions such as Genie and Emma, but for the last 30 years, her friends called her Emy.
Family and church friends called her Nammie, Grammy, or Grandma. Emy would tell you that
she was quite athletic in her youth. She loved to ride bikes and was a competitive tennis player.
She was a great seamstress, making many of our clothes, including prom dresses and an
incredible cook who had the market cornered on the world’s best strawberry-rhubarb pie. Many
looked forward to a gift of her banana bread. Emy was an active member of North Shore Baptist
Church, where she and Bill were loyal, long-time members. Emy gave of herself freely and often
it was in the form of advice. She saw the world the way she thought it should be and wanted to
help people fit into their prescribed roles. She had a big heart and was instrumental in helping
refugee families emigrate and assimilate here in the U.S. Lastly, Emy had always been the
owner of a certain Greek phrase but this time the roles were reversed. On December 2, 2019,
Bill whispered, “Ela tho”, which means come here…and Emy went off to heaven to be with Bill.
She was preceded in death by her husband Bill and daughter Susan. She is survived by her
daughter’s Mary (Mike) Doty and Karen (Scott) Bednarke, grandchildren TJ, Kate, Robert,
Zachary, and Duke, and great granddaughter Rosalie Doty.
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