Georgia (Basdravanis) Athanasiou, 98, of Worcester, passed away on Monday, October 9th, 2023, at Holy Trinity Nursing and Rehab Center with her children by her side. Her loving husband of seventy years, Arthur Athanasiou, predeceased her on August 31st, 2016.
Born in Tsamanta, Epirus, Greece, on February 15, 1925, Georgia was the daughter of the late Michael and Konstantina (Pantazis) Basdravanis. In addition to her husband, Arthur, she was predeceased by her sister, Lamprini (Basdravanis) Milionis.
Arthur was the love of her life and throughout their seventy-year marriage, they were each singularly devoted to assuring the other’s happiness and well-being. Her family, friends and church were the center of Georgia’s life. She always displayed integrity and graciousness, saw the good in people, and brought out the best in everyone. She was the embodiment of the warmth, wisdom, and resilience that are the quintessential hallmarks of the traditional Greek mother. Georgia was the backbone of the Athanasiou family; an impeccable homemaker, her home was her sanctuary, the place where her heart was most content, where family and friends gathered in love and friendship, where unconditional acceptance greeted you at her door, where happiness and hardship were shared, and where warmth, laughter, and the wonderful aromas of home-cooked Greek food perpetually filled the air.
Georgia immigrated to Worcester with her family in January 1955, where over the course of the following twenty-nine years, she worked for a number of manufacturing companies, the last of which was Astra Pharmaceuticals, from where she retired in 1984 to devote her time to helping her children raise theirs. They adored her, finding solace in her tender embrace and wisdom in her stories of life in the village and our family history. She instilled in all of us the values of hard work, resilience, perseverance, and a deep love for our Greek heritage.
She was a member of the St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral, of Worcester, MA., and of its Senior Citizens Club, the Greek Orthodox Ladies Philoptochos Society, and the St George Society of Tsamanta of Worcester, MA.
Georgia is survived by her devoted children Toula Lavelle and her husband, Michael, of East Longmeadow, MA, and her son, Nick Athanasiou, of Worcester, MA, along with her five cherished grandchildren, Shawn Lavelle, and his wife Jennifer of Centreville, VA, Erin and Carmine Keane of Ludlow, MA, and Kara and Joe Sweeney, of East Longmeadow, MA, Michael Athanasiou, and his wife Anastasia of Hopkinton, MA, and Christina Athanasiou of Worcester, as well as eight treasured great-grandchildren, Chloe and Colin Sweeney, Rose and Maeve Lavelle, Peyton and Aubrey Keane, Zoey and Nicholas Athanasiou, and many cousins, nieces and nephews in the US, Greece, Australia and Argentina.
The family wishes to acknowledge with deep gratitude, the outstanding care, unyielding compassion, and exceptional dedication to Georgia’s needs that were provided by the many nursing, support and administrative staff of Holy Trinity Nursing and Rehabilitation Center during her many years of residency at the Center.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 11th, at O'CONNOR BROTHERS FUNERAL HOME, 592 Park Avenue. The funeral will be held on Thursday, October 12th, with a service at 11:00am at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 102 Russell Street. Interment will follow at Hope Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that contributions be made to Holy Trinity Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 300 Barber Avenue, Worcester, MA 01606, or to St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Cathedral Endowment Fund, 102 Russell Street, Worcester, MA 01609.