Eleni Soumela Cocores

Eleni was exceptional at everything she set her mind to, big or small. She was valedictorian of her class at Boca Christian High School and graduated with honors from the University of Miami. Eleni immediately put her degree in marketing to work at NBC Universal in NYC. Stints at Bravo and YouTube followed before Eleni headed west to San Francisco for a prestigious marketing and strategy role with Google.

After working for 10 years, Eleni took a year off to travel the world. She visited Greece, building intimate relationships with her extended family; she recounted her time getting to know these family members as one of the most impactful periods in her life. From there, Eleni traveled to more countries than most will visit in their lifetimes: Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Cyprus, Jordan, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Japan. Drawing on her own experiences and talent for journaling, Eleni created impressive Google Sheets for her friends and family. She detailed places to visit, things to do, meals to try, and people to see in each of these places, centering each locale’s culture, heritage, and peoples in her thoughtful recommendations.

Eleni’s love for food, great wine, and gathering people around a table led her to move to Washington D.C. in 2018; there, she worked for restaurants, gaining more industry knowledge and furthering her vision of one day starting her own business. While in D.C., Eleni was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the young age of 33, and yet, she navigated the news–as she did everything in her life–with hope, poise, and an unwavering resilience.

Eleni possessed this amazing practice of enjoying life to the fullest. Throughout the rigorous and difficult treatments that followed, Eleni remained deeply present:

She continued to create: When she wasn’t lending her expertise to friends’ projects, productions, and start-ups, she was creating on her own, from mastering difficult recipes to designing her new home. Her efforts to completely renovate her Delray Beach apartment were featured in the December 2022 edition of House Beautiful, in a piece entitled “The House that Hope Built.”

She continued to deepen her relationship with her Greek Orthodox faith. She visited many monasteries and places of worship, both domestically and globally, and she drew on her varied talents while volunteering for the different parishes she attended as she traveled. Most importantly, Eleni took immense pride in baptizing her nephew and fulfilling the role of Nona.

She continued to dedicate herself to her friends, family, and the next generation. Babies and little ones gravitated towards her. She always came over bearing gifts, usually something you hadn’t even realized you needed. She continued offering her signature advice, which was candid yet kind. Eleni also advocated for others, making choices to help the medical community better understand why colorectal cancer now affects younger individuals. (According to the American Cancer Society, almost double the number of adults under 55 are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer now than they were a decade ago.)

Eleni was a singular woman. A shining example of what it means to be humble yet brilliant, playful and adventurous, honest and tenacious. She was witty, strong-willed, and incredibly loving until her last breaths. Eleni’s empathy and profound curiosity about life’s wonders will continue to inspire us all.

The world said goodbye to a strong, courageous woman on July 18, 2023 when Eleni Soumela passed at age 36. She is survived by her parents Mary (Syris) and James Cocores, her sisters Alexandra and Stephanie, her grandfather (Papou) Alexander Syris, her brother-in-law Manuel, and her godson and nephew Alejandro Nicholas in addition to her beloved extended family across the U.S. and Greece as well as countless friends whom she considered and treated like family.

Services will be held at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church on Friday, July 21 at 11:00am. Eleni will be buried at St. Nektarios Orthodox Monastery in Roscoe, New York.

In lieu of flowers, All donations collected in memory of Eleni will go toward a family in need who has been affected by cancer. Please make checks out to St. Mark's Greek Orthodox Church with Eleni Cocores in the memo line of the check.

A visitation for Eleni will be held Friday, July 21, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St Mark's Greek Orthodox Church, 2100 Yamato Rd,, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Following the visitation will be a funeral service from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at St. Mark's Greek Orthodox Church, 2100 Yamato Rd,, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.babionesouthflorida.com for the Cocores family.