Obituary of Georgia Varetakis (2023) – Nashville, TN

Georgia Varetakis
May 24, 2023
Georgia was born in Alameda in 1925 to Thanasis and Katina Andronico. She and her seven siblings worked in the family grocery store. She married Mike Varetakis, the love of her life, in 1948 and raised sons Gus and Nick in San Francisco. In 1964 the family and Mike’s shoe repair business moved to San Rafael. In 1972 they moved to Kenwood where she became a real estate agent, travel agent and owner of the Grape’s Cafe. Mike died in 1979. In 2006 she moved to Tennessee to be near her son Nick. She lived independently until she went to the Maybelle Carter Home at the age of 94. She was healthy until she had heart problems for the past ten days and died a month before her 98th birthday.
She was the life of the party, she was goofy and made people laugh. She loved family gatherings with Greek food and music. When she heard Greek music, she would dance, even for the Maybelle staff. She was energetic well into her ’90s, in her high heels and skinny pants. She maintained her “ready smile” throughout her final years. She and her siblings were fluent in Greek and enjoyed many trips there. She loved being ProYiayia for Cora and Maggie.
Before her died Mike, her husband of 31 years, and her siblings: Panayiota, Sophie, Joanne, Helen, Johnny and Niko, and sister-in-law Fay. She is survived by sons Gus (Janice), Nick (Jim), sister Nikie, granddaughter Lisa (Patrick), great-granddaughters Cora and Maggie, and many nieces and nephews.
The family will be hosting a reunion at their friend’s restaurant, Mary’s Pizza Shack in Sonoma, on Saturday, July 22, from 1 to 4 p.m. Donations can be made to the Alive Hospice in Nashville.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on July 3, 2023.

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