Voula (Kaloskambis) Plavoukos' Obituary
Voula Plavoukos, 86, of Liverpool, went home on All Saints Day, which is fitting as she could have told you about the passion and sacrifices made by each one of them. She reflected upon and lived her last days without fear or complaint and with a cheerful heart instead and that is because she had always equated death with “changing our clothes”. Born in Piraeus, Greece, Voula came to the United States to visit her sister Antonia. When she stepped off the ship in Manhattan where she would meet a charismatic quintessential New Yorker, her future husband John. She mentioned that her favorite singer was Nat King Cole for “if the human heart had a voice it would be his”. So, John and Voula took their seats at the best table in the house at Gatsby’s to see and hear all Voula’s favorite songs. After they were married, Voula and John moved their young family to Syracuse where John’s brothers, Phil and George, had already made a name for themselves in the restaurant business. In 1974, Voula and John introduced fine Greek cuisine to Syracuse when they opened the Poseidon Restaurant in the Regency Tower on James Street and for the next 17 years they entertained thousands of guests including opera star, Luciano Pavarotti, All in the Family actress, Jean Stapleton, Batman movie producer, Peter Gruber, US Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, NYS Governor Mario Cuomo, NYC Mayor John Lindsay and of course, their beloved friend, Syracuse Mayor Lee Alexander.
After her husband’s death, Voula divided her remaining happy years between Athens, Syracuse and Los Angeles.
She is predeceased by her beloved sister, Antonia Gutow and survived by her sons, Lee and James of Liverpool and Spero (Cassandra) of Los Angeles; grandchildren, John of Liverpool, Nikolas and Zoi of Los Angeles; her niece, Nassia (Lorenzo) Gabrielle of Geneva, Switzerland; two nephews, Yiannis Gutow of Ft. Lauderdale and Spencer (Marie) Plavoukos of North Syracuse, along with many other beloved nieces and nephews throughout the world.
A funeral service in celebration of Voula’s life will take place on Friday, November 9, 2018 at 12:00 pm (noon) in St. Sophia’s Greek Orthodox Church, 325 Waring Rd., Syracuse, NY 13224. Entombment will follow in Oakwood Cemetery Mausoleum. Funeral arrangements entrusted to THOMAS J. PIRRO JR. FUNERAL HOME.
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