Sophie C. More

SOPHIE KATALANOU MORE died peacefully at her home in Katy, TX on Saturday, September 3, 2011 at the age of 87. She was the daughter of John Katalanos and Marie Katramadou and was born in Athens, Greece on November 21, 1923. Her father was the captain of a merchant ship and she spent several summers traveling to numerous foreign ports. Their excursions included a two-year stay in Buenos Aires where they lived with an uncle and his family. Sophie came to the United States in the 1940s to study at the University of Houston. She was an adventurous young lady for she left all of her family an ocean away in order to obtain a good education. She graduated in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology.

Sophie met her husband, Tony, at the University of Houston. Tony had come to Houston from Cuba on a scholarship and they quickly became quite an item at the university due to their diverse backgrounds. They were married on August 5, 1949 and enjoyed sixty-two years of marriage. Sophie was determined to utilize her degree and worked as a medical technologist at various hospitals in Houston, Magnolia, AR, Mesquite and Tyler for about thirty years. As a working mother, she was a minority in her day, but was very proud to earn her own money.

Sophie was a fan of the arts and a strong supporter of her sister, Rena, who was an exceptional lyric soprano. She enjoyed the opera, ballet, classical music and musicals. She encouraged her daughters to take dance and piano lessons and never tired of transporting them to their various functions. She thoroughly enjoyed her role as prime supporter of her children and extended family.

Sophie’s family was her life and she was very close to her sister’s children who affectionately called her “Teta”, which was an Anglicized version of the Greek word for “Auntie”. She also adored her grandchildren who called her “Tata”, which she claimed were the first words out of the mouth of the oldest one. Sophie never missed a family function for she loved to be in the center of the action. Even when her face was severely bruised from her numerous falls, she insisted on traveling to Dallas for the family Christmas parties. She also had a fighting spirit and determination, which she never lost. Even during her final years when her memory was failing her, she never ceased to recognize those close to her. She may not have remembered their names; but she would instantly recognize their faces and would give each one her special smile. Even when she could no longer speak, she still portrayed her spunky personality which was clearly evident by the sparkle in her eyes.

Sophie is survived by her HUSBAND: Tony Moré of Katy; DAUGHTERS: Jan Moré and her husband Mike Johnson of Austin and Emily Hollis and her husband Steve of Dallas;

GRANDCHILDREN: Michael and Lindsey Renken and Alec, Nate and Julia Hollis. Sophie was very close to her SISTER, Rena Kozakis who preceded her in death along with her son Perry. Rena’s surviving family was an important part of Sophie’s life: BROTHER-IN-LAW: Achilles Kozakis; NEPHEWS: John Kozakis of Houston, Thomas Kozakis and his wife Svetlana and daughter Ksenia of Katy and Greg Kozakis and his wife Brenda and their children Nicholas, Nathan and Noah of Colleyville; NIECES: Anna Marie Carlson and her husband Don of Fort Worth and their children Allison, Michael, Rachel and Thomas and Chrissy Kozakis. COUSIN: Nicholas Antoniou of Boston, MA whom Sophie readily “adopted” since she never had a son of her own. NEIGHBORS: Mike and Patti Stull and their son Sawyer of Katy who “adopted” Sophie as the mother they always wanted. CAREGIVER: Gloria Rycraw who spent numerous hours attending to Sophie’s needs and helping to stretch out her life more months than we ever expected.

A service celebrating Sophie’s life will be Saturday the 10th of September, 2011 in the chapel of Memorial Oaks Funeral Home at three o’clock in the afternoon. In lieu of flowers please make memorial contributions to the Juvenile Diabetes Association