Vasiliki Leventis

Vasiliki Leventis (née Giannopoulos) was born on December 24th, 1932 to Apostolos and Eleni Giannopoulos in Limnohori Greece, a small village outside of the city of Patras in the Peloponnese Peninsula. She was called to Heaven on July 27,2024 after a wonderful 91 years of life.

Like many others at the time, Vasiliki was a victim of the Nazi Occupation of Greece during the events of World War II, and was only able to attend first grade. Despite her lack of education, Vasiliki was notoriously smart and picked up new things quickly. Vasiliki always spoke highly of her whole family, but was greatly inspired by her mother's homemaking skills and passion. Following in her footsteps, it is no secret that Vasiliki became the best cook in her family as she poured her heart into every meal. Vasiliki was the second youngest out of five children, but her younger age did not stop her from developing a strong sense of caretaking. Vasiliki always looked out for others, like how she used to walk her sisters to the outhouse at night when they were scared to go alone. Although she had a humble and kind demeanor, she was also determined to do everything her own way. Vasiliki turned down many suitors until she met her eventual husband, Konstantinos "Kostas" Leventis, at age 25. Everyone always joked about how she should be sainted for putting up with Kostas' antics, and his own brothers often said he somehow got the best wife despite his oddities. Like her mother, Vasiliki set out to be the best housewife "nikokyra" she could be, but she was ultimately so much more than that. After getting married, Vasiliki supported her husband by helping him build their own home from scratch, all while caring for their newborn son, John (Yanni). Vasiliki always said she was terrified the roof would cave in during construction, so she would stay up to watch John through the entire night until the house was finished. A few years later, Kostas and Vasiliki bravely made the move to America to give John a better life, with the support of her beloved younger sister, Demetra and husband, Peter. Vasiliki worked odd jobs as a lunch lady for Boston College and in factory work, but she never complained of the hard work. While in Boston, her favorite pastime was getting Chinese food with her sister, who she called everyday - even when they lived in the same house. Although Vasiliki lacked an education herself, she ensured that John would have one, in spite of all odds. Vasiliki was fiercely proud of her son, and her dreams for him came to fruition when he graduated college with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After becoming a pillar of the Greek community in Boston, Vasiliki and Kostas bravely moved again with John and their daughter-in-law, Tawnya, to Grapevine, Texas. Soon after, Vasiliki became a grandmother or "Yiayia" to her only grandchild, Marina, along with many cats throughout the years that she doted on with almost equal measure. Vasiliki spent the next twenty four years putting her family before herself, like always. She would get upset if she found out anyone did a load of laundry without her help and insisted on cooking dinner every night for "her three kids." She even became famous in Tawnya's family for her special Thanksgiving stuffing. Yiayia was perhaps the kindest person to ever live and never forgot anyone's special occasions, even if you yourself forgot them. She kept in constant contact with both her and Kostas' family, and was pretty much solely responsible for keeping everyone connected across state and country lines. In her final years, she passed on her knowledge and love of cooking to her granddaughter. She shared her wisdom, but sometimes struggled to let Marina take the reins in the kitchen to try new things (she did not like being the sous chef). Through Marina, Yiayia and Pappou's lives have become something of a legend in the local community, and they maintain a cult following of Marina's friends and acquaintances to this day. Yiayia had a sharp wit and a sarcastic sense of humor, but she also was a shoulder to cry on. She was the kind of person that always was there for you, even if you didn't always realize it or appreciate it. Yiayia was selfless and patient with everyone for everything (except maybe in her kitchen). She was always smiling unless she knew someone had a camera out. She was the rock and backbone of her family, and leaves behind a legacy of love, compassion, and joy (and great recipes). Her family will greatly miss hearing her singing and laughing throughout the house as she did each day. Vasiliki is preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, her parents, and her three sisters, Barbara, Christina, and Demetra. She is succeeded by her older brother, Nikos, her son and daughter-in-law, John and Tawnya, and her granddaughter, Marina. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation in her memory be made to St. John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Euless, TX.

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