Obituary of Mrs. Helen Angelidis

08/26/1926 – 03/25/2021

 

Helen Angelidis, died in her sleep on the morning of March 25, 2021, in her 94^th year.  She is pre-deceased by her late husband of 25 years, Peter Angelidis; her parents, Hariklia and Lazaros Kokkinos; her sister and brother-in-law, Voulie and Dimitrios Salvarinas; and her nephew, Benjamin Salvarinas, and a multitude of family in Greece.  Helen is survived by her nieces and nephews: Kathy and Sebastian Pelaia, and Mary and John Salvarinas; and her great nieces and nephews: Nicholas, Elisa (Alec), Evelyn (Sam), and James.  She will be missed not just by her Family, but also by her Friends in the Community, as well as the close ties that she developed with both Staff and Residents of the Hellenic Home in Toronto. 

The Family wishes to greatly thank all of the Staff at the Hellenic Home, who helped to enrich Helen’s life in her latter years, and attended to all of her needs with loving care.  A Funeral Service will be live-streamed on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., from the Ogden Funeral Home, 4164 Sheppard Avenue East, with a private Interment to follow at Pine Hills Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, the Family would appreciate a donation to either the Hellenic Home on Winona Avenue, or Autism Ontario, York Region Chapter.

 

 

 

Eulogy

 

 

 

 

 

Our Aunt Helen was affectionately known to all of the Family as, Thia Eleni.  Thia Eleni was born in Serres, Greece, to our Grandparents, Hariklia Bezaneh and Lazaros Kokkinos, who were refugees from Constantinople in the early 1900s.  To this day, Greeks still call Instanbul, Constantinople, even though the city changed nationality in 1453!

 

She was the third of seven children, 5 girls and 2 boys, my Mom being the youngest in the Kokkinos home, with a 12-year difference between the oldest and the youngest.  Just last week, Thia Eleni was reminiscing, about how my Grandmother would always send all of the kids out of the house to play, even though Thia Eleni didn’t want to.  She wanted to try out a new hairstyle. This was to foreshadow the future Esthetician that Thia Eleni was to become.  

 

Thia Eleni married Thio Panos in 1954, and they emigrated to T.O. in 1957, once my parents saved up enough to pay for their airflight, and sponsor them. Thia Eleni was a real character!  She always wanted to be younger, so upon entering Canada, she reinvented herself and made herself 6 years younger.  Thus, in fact, Thia Eleni is legally 94, but actually 100!  Now that’s a story!

 

Thia Eleni and Thio Panos weren’t blessed with kids of their own, but they had us!  I remember Saturday nights when we were young, John and I and later, Ben, would be dressed in our PJs, and walk across Marsh Road with our Parents to Thia Eleni’s place, so that we could watch “Hockey Night in Canada”.  Thio Panos would be yelling, “Goal!” as the Maple Leafs were Stanley Cup condenders back then, while Thia Eleni would be serving us drinks. 

 

I remember Sunday afternoons would be spent playing Family Bingo at our house, while eating freshly-roasted chestnuts.  Our wooden side tables developed burn marks from the heat of the roasted chestnuts.  After Bingo, my Family, along with Thia Eleni and Thio Panos, would have a sing-along.  This is how I came to learn the lyrics of the Greek songs that I constantly sang to Thia Eleni this past year, as a memory-inducing technique.

 

I remember spending some school night evenings at Thia Eleni’s place.  I loved going there because she had uncustomary foods for me, in her pantry.  For example, she had mayonnaise and melba toast, foods that I had never experience at home.  She had imported chocolate liquours wrapped in primary- coloured foils. I was in culture shock!  However, when I went over to Thia Eleni’s, I had to be on my best behaviour so as not to leave fingerprints or smudges, since her place was full of glass and light-coloured furniture.

 

Thia Eleni was an Esthetician by trade, and a very talented one, since she not only practiced her trade, but she also lived it!  She was a self-employed female entrepreneur, when this was not the norm.  She had a shop on Old Yorke Lane in Yorkville, and would treat Mary and I to facials with extensive face and head massages, that were out of this world!  Mary and I were University students then, and attending Thia Eleni’s shop in Yorkville, was a highlight for us.

 

Thia Eleni was Dr. Payot’s representative in Canada.  Dr. Payot was a French Cosmetic and Cream company from France.  She was a skin care expert, and whenever we went out clothes shopping, Thia Eleni would immediately gravitate to the cosmetic counters, testing the moisturizing capacity of day or night skin creams. 

 

Thia Eleni wasn’t just an Esthetician, but a living embodiment of her work.  She would constantly be giving me tips on how to look younger.  For example, she would demonstrate the art of laughing without creating wrinkles.  Thia Eleni taught me to laugh by saying, “Hahaha” by merely opening my mouth without crinkling any part of my face.  However, with my signature Salvarinas laugh, that requires puffed cheeks with squinty eyes and a very wide grin, an open-mouthed, “Hahaha” just wouldn’t cut it!

 

Thia Eleni had a definite sense of style.  She always made sure that she was impeccably dressed and her hair coiffed, where ever she went.  Her style was wearing slim, straight-fitted paints with tailored shirts, never any sleeveless tops or tops without collars, paired with petite-fitted, short jackets.  Petite was her mantra, since she always maintained that proportion made the person; and since she was under 5 feet tall, she felt proportioned clothing would make one appear taller.

 

Thia Eleni also had her definite colour scheme, long before colour wheels became part of a fashion fad.  She only wore pastel greens, pinks and blue; never any bold primary colours such as red, yellow, black or white.  In preparation for her final resting, Mary and I scoured the Internet to find an outfit to meet Thia Eleni’s standard.  When we finally found it, Sebastian said that the look was, “So Thia Eleni”.

 

She maintained that her formula of the Triple Cs (Clothes, Colour, and Cosmetics) were the cornerstones of her business.  She often said that her appearance was her calling card for her Esthetics Business.  Thia Eleni felt that people would want to invest in her services, because they would want to look as well put together as she was.  Whenever we went out with Thia Eleni, we, too, were held to a higher standard.

 

Thia Eleni was able to live on her own after Thio Panos passed away over 30 years ago.  She lived in her condo, which she kept in impeccable condition, up until 5 years ago, when she slipped on her washroom floor, and had to get a hip replacement.  She then needed some support, so she lived for 2 years at Sheppard Terrace Seniors’ Home, before moving to a more supported setting at the Toronto Campus of the Hellenic Home.  Thia Eleni truly enjoyed the people at the Hellenic home, and her face would light up whenever someone came into her room.

 

She was the longest-surviving member of our Family.  We’re firmly convince that this was because Thia Eleni was a fighter.  She was fiercely independent and would never give in to the pressure of the status quo.  If Thia Eleni wanted something, Thia Eleni got it!  She was determined to chart her own course and destiny.

 

In many ways, we are glad that Thia Eleni is no longer suffering.  Her last 6 months of life were very difficult for her.  Due to her Alzheimer’s, she began to refuse to eat, making her weak and waste away to a mere fraction of her normal weight.   She had three near-death experiences, from which she bounced back, to everyone’s delight and surprise.  She had told everyone that she had “Cheated Death”, and that she had visited there, but didn’t like it, so she came back.  However, the fourth time she was too weak and too tired to be able to bounce back.  John, Mary, Sebastian and I, and our children, take comfort in the fact that Thia Eleni has been reunited with her Husband, Parents, and Family; and can live, pain free, forever in our hearts.  Her memory is forever etched within us.