Anne Skoufis Anthony

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – Anne Skoufis Anthony, age 98, longtime resident of La Jolla, California, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunt, passed into Eternal Life on March 9, 2023, in Irvine, California.

Anne was born in Bangor, Maine on May 30, 1924, the fifth child of John L. Skoufis and Katina Boretos Skoufis who had both emigrated from the Peloponnesian region of Greece. She married Harry Antoniades Anthony on September 23, 1950. The couple had been married for 67 years when Harry passed away in 2018 at the age of 95.

She is survived by two daughters, Mary Anne Anthony (John) Smith of Irvine, California, and Kathryn Harriet Anthony of Urbana, Illinois and La Jolla, California; three grandchildren, Alexander (Arlene) Chousmith, Anastasia Smith (Jake) Lewis, and Jeannette Smith (Derrick) Chan; and six great grandchildren: Anderson and Alexander Chousmith; Michael, Ethan, and Keith Lewis; and Theodore Chan. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her four siblings: Georgia Paul, Peter Skoufis, Louis Skoufis, and Helen Rozos. Her sisters Georgia and Helen lived into their 90’s. Throughout their long lives, the three sisters were best friends, staying in touch with weekly phone calls connecting California, Maine, and Florida.

Anne spent her childhood in Bangor, Maine, where her parents were founding members of St. George Greek Orthodox Church, and where she later served as organist. Although her first language was Greek, she excelled in school. She was proud to relate stories of receiving straight A report cards, and she mastered French at Bangor High School. After graduating, she was employed in Bangor at a local bank and at a junior high school.

In 1949 she travelled with her father on the Queen Mary to visit her brother, Peter, who was working at the American Embassy in Paris, and he introduced them to his Greek friend, Harry Antoniades. Harry was working for the American Embassy on the Marshall Plan. While spending several months in Europe, Anne and her father visited relatives in Greece. Upon her return to Paris, Harry proposed marriage. Anne went back to the US to “think it over.” The following year she left her home in Bangor, sailing on the S.S. America to reunite with Harry in Paris. Her engagement and departure were covered in The Bangor Daily News.

The couple was married at the Saint Etienne Greek Orthodox Cathedral and made their first home in Paris, later moving to New York City where they lived for six years. While there, their two daughters were born, and Harry became a US citizen, changing the family surname to Anthony. They left the city to make their home in suburban Leonia, New Jersey. For years Anne and Harry had a weekly “date night” every Friday and enjoyed concerts, operas, theaters, and restaurants in the city. Behind the scenes, Anne supported Harry’s 19-year career as a professor of city planning at Columbia University. Anne was active at her daughters’ schools and attended many school plays and musical performances. Even now, her daughters’ school friends have fond memories of Anne’s warm hospitality, her delicious koulouria and kourabiethes, and her dance lessons for the school’s Greek Festival.

Anne and Harry fulfilled their dream of moving to Southern California when Harry was recruited to serve as chair of the department of urban planning at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he taught for 14 years. The family moved to La Jolla, California, where Anne and Harry lived for 45 years, and where the fresh ocean air and sunshine kept them in excellent health well into their 90’s.

Anne and Harry were founding members of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church at Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. Harry served as the consulting architect for the design of the church, whose large golden dome with its miraculous shining cross has become a local landmark. Every year, Anne and Harry both volunteered at their church’s Greek festival. They were also active in the Hellenic Cultural Society. Anne and Harry each participated in a series of interviews, videotaped by their daughter Kathryn, that are now part of the National Hellenic Museum’s Oral History Collection.

Together they participated in the UCSD Stein Institute for Research on Aging and supported numerous cultural organizations in the San Diego area. For decades, Anne contributed her personal health data annually as a participant in the Women’s Health Initiative, a longitudinal study of the National Institute of Health.

Anne and Harry embraced life and enjoyed traveling, taking several cross-country road trips in the USA. They took their young daughters on several trips to Greece to visit family. Together, Anne and Harry also visited many countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the former USSR.

Anne was known to friends and family as a gourmet cook who made even the most complex dishes, especially Greek and French cuisine, look easy. She enjoyed hosting family and friends at home. She supported her daughters’ pursuits of higher education, opportunities not available to her as she was growing up. And she took great pride in their recognition and success in male-dominated professions. Anne was a loving grandmother, always available to drive from La Jolla to Irvine whenever her daughter and son-in-law needed her to care for their three children. She enjoyed their musical recitals, dance performances, and awards ceremonies. While well into her 80’s and 90’s, she was proud to attend the graduations and weddings of her grandchildren and was blessed to witness the baptisms of four great-grandsons.

Her final years were spent at Atria Golden Creek near her daughter and son-in-law’s home in Irvine. The family is eternally grateful for the exceptionally compassionate care she received from both the Atria staff and the Agape Homecare caregivers.

Anne was much beloved by all who knew her throughout her life and will be forever missed.

Services at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 3459 Manchester Avenue, Cardiff-By-the-Sea, California. Burial at El Camino Memorial Park, San Diego.

Donations in Anne’s memory can be sent to:

Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church

3459 Manchester Avenue

Cardiff-By-the-Sea, CA 92007

(www.stsconstantinehelen.com/)

Or

the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org)