Tessie Pappas

It is with great sorrow, yet with joyous expectation of the Resurrection, we announce the falling asleep of Tessie Pappas on Friday, the 29th of April 2022. As is tradition in the Orthodox Christian faith, the celebration of the Anastasi, Christ’s resurrection, continues into the week following Easter. It was only fitting that Mom was called home and granted eternal peace at this time.

Tessie (baptized as Anastasia, which means “of the Resurrection”) was born on the 2nd April 1933, in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrants, George and Alexandra Demetriou. She was particularly proud of her Brooklyn roots and a piece of Brooklyn was with her all her life. There, she met her husband, Plato (whose parents coincidently immigrated from Greece on the same ship as her parents) and they were married on the 24th of June 1956. Their union brought forth their three sons, George, Jimmy, and Gregory.

Mom was, first and foremost, the epitome of the traditional Greek housewife and the rock which grounded her husband and family. She proudly supported Dad while he pursued his professional career as a civil engineer in Africa and Southeast Asia. After several years of living in Houston, Youngstown, Ohio and New York City, Mom supported Dad’s decision to relocate their family, along with her elderly mother, to Houston where she put down deep roots.

While Dad was busy working and developing projects for Mitchell Energy & Development, the most notable being The Woodlands, Mom’s days were busy keeping Plato in line, caring for her mother, and raising three sons, her pride and joy until grandchildren appeared. Mom was a constant supporter of Dad’s professional activities and developed lifelong friendships with Dad’s colleagues and their spouses. Whether it was the constant shuttling of her boys to sports practices and Greek school or caring for her elderly mother, she cherished her role as a devoted wife, mother and daughter. She found boundless joy and pride in the accomplishments of her husband, sons and grandchildren.

Since their relocation to Houston in 1967, Mom was an active member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Houston, its philanthropic organization, Philoptochos, and the Original Greek Festival, as well as St. Basil the Great Greek Orthodox Church in Houston and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church in Galveston.

Tessie and Plato loved Galveston, their farm in Magnolia and the many friends they made. They loved to entertain and made many priceless memories during their years together. They loved traveling but their favorite destination always remained their home where they spent time with friends and family.

Tessie reunites in Heaven with her parents, George and Alexandra Demetriou, her husband, Plato and son Jimmy. Left to grieve her passing are her sons and their wives, George Plato and Anastasia (Thanos) Pappas, Gregory Plato and Cynthia (Feighl) Pappas, daughter-in-law Monique (Alanis) Pappas and her eight grandchildren, Sophie Alexandra, Anastacia Renee, Andrew Gregory, Plato James, Matthew George, Alexandra Gregory, Phillip Gregory and Mari Gregory Pappas. She is also survived by her brothers-in-law, Sam Pappas, his son Alexi, Spiro Pappas, his wife Harriet and their children, Jim, Andrew and Michael.

The family would like to express their thanks and appreciation to the medical professionals who looked after Mom during her final days, most notably Dr. Michael Kroll and Dr. Holly Holmes, for their compassionate care, as well as Mom’s caregivers, Dorothy Wong, Eliza Magsino, Tyesha Johnson and Lynn Leornard. We are eternally grateful.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family during a visitation at ten o’clock in the morning, on Tuesday, the 3rd of May 2022, at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3511 Yoakum Boulevard in Houston, where the funeral service will commence at eleven o’clock in the morning with the Cathedral Clergy officiating.

KINDLY NOTE: Those who are unable to attend the service in person may join the livestream of the funeral service by visiting Tessie’s online memorial tribute page at Geohlewis.com and selecting “Join Livestream” icon in the “Services” section.

The interment will follow, via escorted cortege, at Woodlawn Garden of Memories in Houston.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions in Tessie’s name be made to, Hellenic College – Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. 50 Goddard Ave, Jamaica Hills, Brookline, MA 02130 or online www.hchc.edu/give, International Orthodox Christian Charities Ukrainian Fund, 110 West Road, Suite 360, Baltimore, MD 21204 or online www.iocc.org or The Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church, 1824 Avenue H, Galveston, TX 77550 or online www.asssumptiontx.org