Mary Catsimatides Obituary

Mary Catsimatides CHARLESTON, SC - Mary Catsimatides, 96, passed away on Friday October 26, 2018, in White Plains, NY. She was born, as she would proudly say, "on the corner of Princess Street and King Street" in Charleston, SC, on November 19, 1921, to her parents Constantine Michael Cockinos and Irene Zapetis Cockinos. Mary was a free-spirited and independent woman who gave of herself to many, always had a lively comment to cheer people up, refused to let anything get her down, and loved life itself up until the very end. Her family moved to Charlotte, NC, where she became a beautician and taught Sunday school. Mary always had an adventurous spirit, and in 1954 she travelled to her ancestral home of Nisyros, Greece, where she met and married Michael Anthony Catsimatides. They settled in the Bronx, NY, where she raised her family and assisted him with intellectual and moral support in his successful candidacy for a dissertation at Columbia University in Philosophy and American History. She spent much of her time renovating the lower level of their home, where she did all the construction herself, and transformed it into a hair salon where she worked for many years before accepting a position as a sales consultant in the field of interior design with a window dressing company on Bartow Avenue in the Bronx. Starting in 1980, after the passing of her husband, Mary enjoyed traveling to Greece every year where she would spend several months out planning and rebuilding her mother's ancestral home on Nisryros. Many close friends and family have fond memories of visiting Mary and coming back with precious stories thanks to Mary's generous accommodating nature and desire to enjoy everyone's company and always make even strangers feel at ease. Her last trip to Greece was at the age of 91, which she made by herself! She always liked to say about aging "don't think of it as an age, think of it as a number," for even at the end, she surely did not feel, look, nor exude the presence of someone who lived so long. While traveling to Greece, she would often take side trips throughout Europe and the Balkans, by bus, train, taxi, or foot, where her stories of meeting and hanging out with young travelers provided us with many hours of stories and photos of the people and places she visited. In the spring of 1996, after being retired for many years, she decided to move back to her beloved home town of Charleston, SC. Mary joined the prominent group, the Hat Ladies, and proudly displayed a variety of exquisite and unique hats for many causes such as providing assistance to the elderly, children and the sick, all of whom were warmly touched by her gift for buoying up one's life just by her presence and her cheerful and positive energy. Mary is survived by her sister, Petsa Cockinos Schwartz; her daughter, Renee Catsimatides Hoering; her son, Anthony Michael Catsimatides and his wife, Alyson Markell; her granddaughter, Cassis Hoering; and her niece, Constance Schwartz-Morini. She is predeceased by her husband and siblings, Frank Cockinos, Mike Cockinos, and Happy Cockinos. Visitation will be held at the Riverdale Funeral Home in Manhattan, on Tuesday, October 30, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm. Funeral Services will be held at Prophet Elias Greek Orthodox Church in Yonkers, NY, on Wednesday, October 31, at 11:30am. Visit our guestbook at www.legacy.com/obituaries/ charleston