Its taken me 3 years to add a Memory.
My mother was my (krifo kamari) witch in english, translated means ( my secret pride). I would rarely speak about the pride, love and admiration I have for her because I never wanted to give anyone an opportunity to say otherwise. Her fierce love for her family and Her strength of character is know to most of us. She was not perfect ....but I dont care. For me she is my (krifo kamari).
God be with you. I cant wait till we all see you again in the next Life.
Your son George.

A wonderful friend and neighbor.

James MacDonald

My mother! My mother was the strongest person I have ever met in my life. She endured the worst things a person should ever have to. She was sold as a slave at a very young age ran from that and got away. She then as a teenager had to go through WWII in Greece and end up even more in poverty and starvation. She crossed the ocean to Canada with a new born baby, my sister, and found a new life. That new life wasn't so easy either. As an immigrant she would work 12 to 14 hours a night picking worms on worm farms to  make the best money she could to raise a family. She worked  hard so that her family would never have to go through the atrocities she had been through. She loved everyone she met and would help anyone . R.I.P. Despina Souhleris. I will never forget the lessons she taught me. My favorite saying, and I live by it today, " If you have your health,  a roof over your head and food on the table, what more do you need? " Love you my My Mother, Peter.

Despina was a great friend and neighbour to myself and my mother, who passed away 2 weeks before Despina.  She will be missed.

Despina was a lovely person who was our neighbour for the  last 40 years. She was kind, generous, and thoughtful. We will certainly miss her.

                                                      Jim & Joanne 

Condolences to the family - my favorite memory is enjoying Despina's home made fries 

The Broken Chain

We little knew that day, 
God was going to call your name. 
In life we loved you dearly, 
In death, we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you.
You did not go alone. 
For part of us went with you, 
The day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories, 
Your love is still our guide. 
And although we cannot see you, 
You are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken, 
And nothing seems the same,
But as God calls us one by one,
The chain will link again. 
Author: Ron Tranmer 

Loved  forever,
Anna(nee Souhleris), Bryan, Jaymes(Zehra), Lauren(Geoff)

I just hope I can carry her incredible spirit forward in my life and have a positive, loving and lasting impact on those around me now and in the future. Her stories of her life in Greece are heroic and unbelievable - nothing stopped her from her goals and she overcame unimaginable adversity. As a kid she taught herself how to read so the family could read. She fought for every single thing that I/the fam enjoy today. She was the person inviting Jehovah witnesses in for coffee... She taught me the meaning of filotimo, long before I knew there was a Greek word it. The Matriarch, bringing (sponsoring) more than a dozen family members escaping poverty in the mountains of Greece to Canada for a better life - and holy smokesa do we ever have that. RIP Yiayia, Despina Souhleris, the strongest and most beautiful human I've ever known. I love you so much and you will never be forgotten ♥️✨ 


"Filotimo (or Philotimo) is best understood as ones responsibility to themselves as a human being to always act in accordance with righteousness and honor. Even if ones wealth, safety, freedom, or even life is at peril, one that lives by this virtue will always choose to do the right and honorable regardless of consequence. The idea of filotimo goes beyond the idea that one needs no motive to act in good faith and for a good cause, and suggests that for a sentient being, right and honorable actions should be the only acceptable behavior. It therefore requires a universal (or at least well-established) sense of morality, and a "golden standard" of behavior, which must be reached by all means possible, and by any sacrifice necessary. This term unique to the Greek language may apply to individuals, groups, or even Greek society as a whole, and may refer to any kind of action or behavior. Filotimo is often seen as the "prime vitrue". It comes from the words φίλος = friend and τιμή = honor."

"I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love where feeling is not.
I believe in God even if he is silent" ("words that were discovered written on the wall of a cellar in which a victim of Hitler's persecution hid and died") [Book, Taken on Trust by Terry Waite]
Eternal be her memory.
George, (Aspasia, Katherine, Chrysoula, Konstantina, Vaio, Joanna, Erika, Georgia, Heleni); Despina, (Michael, Julia, Brooke); James (Nancy); Nick (Laura, Evie)

OBITUARY

Despina Souhleris

June 27, 1930 – June 23, 2019

Jerrett Funeral Homes - Scarborough Chapel

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