Thelma (Zunes) Coravos
beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend;
Thelma (Zunes) Coravos, the daughter of the late Athanasius and Panagiota (Papadopoulos) Zunes, died on June 15th at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston with her daughter by her side, having spent her last day surrounded by her family.
Born in Aithonia, Macedonia, Greece, on September 21, 1928, Thelma emigrated to the United States with her mother after surviving the Italian and German invasions and occupations of Greece. At 18 years old, she met her father for the first time when she disembarked from the ocean liner Saturnia in New York City on February 6, 1947.
After first living in Taunton, Thelma moved to Lowell with her parents in 1950 to become part of its vibrant Greek community. On December 9, 1951, she married Andrew Coravos, with whom she spent the first year of their marriage in Augusta, Georgia, where Andrew was stationed during the Korean War.
Before moving to Dracut ten years ago, Thelma and Andrew lived in Lowell for 57 years, where they raised their two children. An inseparable team, Thelma and Andy filled each other’s gaps and enhanced each other’s strengths. Thelma was a devoted member of the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, the Ladies Philoptochos Society, and the Pan-Macedonian Society.
Thelma loved meeting people and especially embraced the friends of her children and grandchildren. Age was no barrier to friendship. Nothing made her happier than a big family gathering with new people she could meet. She was an excellent cook who loved to host and serve family and friends, and do her own clean up. She taught some of her grandchildren how to make her famous pita and koulourakia but some recipes she kept secret. She was an excellent seamstress and made many of her own clothes learning to sew when she first arrived in this country. Her sense of style was impeccable, her posture perfect. Her memory was prodigious particularly for people’s birthdays. Upon her recent move to assisted living with her husband, she loved learning the stories of the caring staff especially those of hard-working immigrants, like herself, who strive for a better life for themselves and their children. She could not have been more proud of her grandchildren. She attended all five high school graduations, five college graduations, and two graduate school graduations, meeting the Dean of Harvard Business School and research professors at MIT. She never lost her thirst for life, her genuine curiosity, and her outsize ability to persevere through adversity.
She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Andrew Coravos, her son, Evan Coravos, her daughter, Pamela Coravos (Garrett Stuck), her grandchildren Andrea, Christina, and Cassandra Coravos and their mother Dee Dee Coravos, her grandchildren Jonathan and Catherine Stuck Coravos, her sister-in-law Pari Papakyriakou, many nieces and nephews, including her brother’s daughters Pemi and Debbie Zouni of Athens, cousins, koumbari, and friends, each of whom held a special place in her heart.
She was predeceased by her beloved brother, Lambro, who died in 1967 at the age of 46.
Friends may call at the O'DONNELL FUNERAL HOME, 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in Lowell from 4 to 8 P.M. Wednesday. Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service to be held Thursday morning at the TRANSFIGURATION GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH at 10 o'clock followed by her burial in the Westlawn Cemetery. E-condolences/directions at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in her memory to the Transfiguration Greek orthodox Church, Fr. John Sarantos Way, Lowell, MA 01854. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O'Donnell, Jr., (978) 458-8768.
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