Tag Archives: Greek

Remembering Mom on the First Anniversary of Her Death

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Catherine Kostakos with me, March 1948

One year ago today — October 5, 2011 — my mother passed from earth life into heaven, joining my father, her siblings and parents, and untold numbers of family members. Although Mom was in excellent physical health prior to her death, dementia had caused significant cognitive changes and much anxiety for her and our family.

In March 2011, Mom was coping with the loss of her car and her independence after having a minor accident. She had been especially agitated for a couple of weeks. One afternoon, to my surprise and relief, she told me in a calm voice, “I talked to your father last night. He told me not to worry, that everything would be all right.” Mom’s decline was especially rapid after that day, culminating in her death six months later.

Her passing was much harder on me than I ever anticipated. After months of sadness, I decided to undertake the monumental task of digitizing her photo albums — more than 1,000 pictures. Amazingly, this arduous task became a primary source of healing. As I handled each photo, I looked into the faces of my parents and loved ones. Seeing their happy faces lifted my spirits; touching these tangible reminders of their earthly life made me feel close to them. As I worked on this project week after week, something miraculous happened — my sadness lifted and my heart was healed. This was such a profound experience for me that I wrote this article, “Their Pictures Are My History,” which was published in an online magazine.

Sunday will be Mom’s one-year memorial service at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in the Washington DC area. As I prepare emotionally and spiritually for this and other remembrances, I know that Mom and Dad are still helping me in unseen ways, especially in the genealogical connections that have been made in the past year. I can’t help but think that Mom has rallied the troops “on the other side,” causing them to prompt their living family members to find my online trees and email me with new information. But that’s a post for another day.

Thank you, Mom, for giving me life, love, guidance and support while you were here, and for continuing to be close to me each day. I hope my life will be a testament and reflection of the importance of good parents and the values of a strong family.

(I’ve posted a few photos of my parents and me as an infant here)

Getting Started

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This is the home village of three of my grandparents.

This is my first post on my new blog! My name is Carol Harriet Kostakos Petranek, and I am of Greek-American ancestry. I was baptized Hariklia Kostakou (Χαρικλια Κοστακου) after the traditional Greek naming patterns: as the first child, I named after my father’s mother, Hariklia (Aridas) Kostakos. Although Hariklia is a beautiful Greek name, my mother was not enamoured of its English translation, Harriet. I had the good fortune of being born on Christmas Eve which gave my mother the opportunity to name me Carol. However, my dear grandparents called me Hariklia until the day they died.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, and lived in a predominantly Greek neighborhood. My grandparents and other family members were within walking distance, and my earliest years were spent surrounded by family. When I was five, we moved to a small town in New Jersey and when I was 13, we moved to a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C. I have always felt a strong love for family and this has manifested in a passion for genealogical research.

My purpose in writing this blog is to preserve a path of my Greek genealogical research, and to share what I have learned with others. This is not an easy road to follow. Records are not readily available and the Greek language can be a barrier to many people. However, we can keep learning and progressing, one step at a time, in reaching a worthy goal — to discover, preserve and share our family history with others.

Please join me on this exciting journey! And don’t hesitate to contact me at anytime. I’m looking forward to making many new friends, and — hopefully — finding many new family members!