Obituary for Mary Lialiou (Gikas)
West Brookfield, MA - Mary Lialiou, 93, fell asleep in the Lord on August 6th, 2022.
Mary is predeceased by her husband, Steve, who reposed on December 20, 1996. She is also predeceased by her beloved parents and three siblings.
Mary was born on October 27th, 1928 in Manhattan, NY to John and Anastasia Polimeri-Gikas, both immigrants from Greece. She was the third born of their four children, which included her sister Artemis, her brothers James and George. She and her family later moved to the Bronx where they were members of the Zoodohos Peghe Greek Orthodox church.
In 1947, Mary’s senior year of High School, her family left apartment living and moved to a home in Bayside, Queens. Here her family enjoyed having vegetable gardens with a productive grape arbor. As a young woman, Mary enjoyed her job in the orders department at the New York publishing house of Harper & Brothers. Through mutual friends, Mary met her future husband Steve, who she married in June 1951. They moved to Little Neck, Queens and raised a family of three children, Paulette (Masterjohn), Thomas and Annette (Wilson).
Upon Steve’s retirement, they moved to upstate New York, first to Clifton Park then to Saratoga where Steve had worked for the New York Racing Association. They were parishioners of St George Greek Orthodox church in Schenectady and then Saint Basil Greek Orthodox church in Troy. Her church community was a big part of her life and she enjoyed volunteering to help her parish Philoptochos group with events, especially St. Basil Greek Festival. A faithful Orthodox Christian, Mary knew how important faith was in life. She was blessed to spend her last years worshiping at the Holy Protection Orthodox Mission in West Brookfield, MA mission run by her eldest daughter and son in law and enjoyed watching it grow.
Mary and husband enjoyed traveling, taking several trips to Greece and a cruise to the Caribbean. Once settled in Saratoga, they enjoyed quite a few road trips with friends to Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada. Mary had many stories from those adventures which she enjoyed sharing. Saratoga always held such fond memories for them of family vacations and of dear friends and family.
Always the game player, she kept her mind sharp playing and teaching Rumikub to her friends at her senior apartment and also to her great grandchildren. But most of all was the ancient Chinese game, Mah Jongg. It became an important and treasured part of all family gatherings to this day, with sometimes four generations at the game table. It is all thanks to her introducing them to the game with her original Mah Jongg set. She cherished the time she spent with grandchildren and great grandchildren, and playing games was a wonderful way for all to connect. Reading was another valued past time and she loved making trips to the library to find something new to read from her favorite authors.
Mary was a loving mother and devoted grandmother to her eight grandchildren and 13 (soon to be 14) great grandchildren. She will always be remembered for her thoughtful loving ways and her willingness to help whenever she was needed.
Mary and Steve are now reunited in God’s heavenly kingdom. May her Memory be Eternal!
A funeral service for Mary will be celebrated by Father Emmanuel Mantzouris in St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 107 Clinton Street, Schenectady, NY on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 10am followed by interment in St. Basil’s Cemetery, Maplewood. Friends are invited to attend and may also visit with Mary’s family on Tuesday from 4 until 7pm at the Parker Bros. Memorial, 2013 Broadway, Watervliet. The evening will conclude following the Trisagion Memorial service at 7 pm.
Donations may be made to St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, 909 River Street, Troy, NY 12180 in memory of Mary Lialiou.
Mary is predeceased by her husband, Steve, who reposed on December 20, 1996. She is also predeceased by her beloved parents and three siblings.
Mary was born on October 27th, 1928 in Manhattan, NY to John and Anastasia Polimeri-Gikas, both immigrants from Greece. She was the third born of their four children, which included her sister Artemis, her brothers James and George. She and her family later moved to the Bronx where they were members of the Zoodohos Peghe Greek Orthodox church.
In 1947, Mary’s senior year of High School, her family left apartment living and moved to a home in Bayside, Queens. Here her family enjoyed having vegetable gardens with a productive grape arbor. As a young woman, Mary enjoyed her job in the orders department at the New York publishing house of Harper & Brothers. Through mutual friends, Mary met her future husband Steve, who she married in June 1951. They moved to Little Neck, Queens and raised a family of three children, Paulette (Masterjohn), Thomas and Annette (Wilson).
Upon Steve’s retirement, they moved to upstate New York, first to Clifton Park then to Saratoga where Steve had worked for the New York Racing Association. They were parishioners of St George Greek Orthodox church in Schenectady and then Saint Basil Greek Orthodox church in Troy. Her church community was a big part of her life and she enjoyed volunteering to help her parish Philoptochos group with events, especially St. Basil Greek Festival. A faithful Orthodox Christian, Mary knew how important faith was in life. She was blessed to spend her last years worshiping at the Holy Protection Orthodox Mission in West Brookfield, MA mission run by her eldest daughter and son in law and enjoyed watching it grow.
Mary and husband enjoyed traveling, taking several trips to Greece and a cruise to the Caribbean. Once settled in Saratoga, they enjoyed quite a few road trips with friends to Nova Scotia and other parts of Canada. Mary had many stories from those adventures which she enjoyed sharing. Saratoga always held such fond memories for them of family vacations and of dear friends and family.
Always the game player, she kept her mind sharp playing and teaching Rumikub to her friends at her senior apartment and also to her great grandchildren. But most of all was the ancient Chinese game, Mah Jongg. It became an important and treasured part of all family gatherings to this day, with sometimes four generations at the game table. It is all thanks to her introducing them to the game with her original Mah Jongg set. She cherished the time she spent with grandchildren and great grandchildren, and playing games was a wonderful way for all to connect. Reading was another valued past time and she loved making trips to the library to find something new to read from her favorite authors.
Mary was a loving mother and devoted grandmother to her eight grandchildren and 13 (soon to be 14) great grandchildren. She will always be remembered for her thoughtful loving ways and her willingness to help whenever she was needed.
Mary and Steve are now reunited in God’s heavenly kingdom. May her Memory be Eternal!
A funeral service for Mary will be celebrated by Father Emmanuel Mantzouris in St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 107 Clinton Street, Schenectady, NY on Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 10am followed by interment in St. Basil’s Cemetery, Maplewood. Friends are invited to attend and may also visit with Mary’s family on Tuesday from 4 until 7pm at the Parker Bros. Memorial, 2013 Broadway, Watervliet. The evening will conclude following the Trisagion Memorial service at 7 pm.
Donations may be made to St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, 909 River Street, Troy, NY 12180 in memory of Mary Lialiou.