Eleftheria "Vicky" Tsiantar

Eleftheria Tsiantar, affectionately called Vicky by her friends and family, died peacefully on July 8, at daybreak about 20 days short of  her 96th birthday.  No one that met this feisty, independent, and charming woman will ever forget her or her warm smile and sparkling eyes.    She was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1922 but grew up in Ioannina, Greece.  She lived through the Nazi occupation of Greece--and was involved in the youth movement of the Resistance, She also worked for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in Greece, helping a British doctor serve many villages in the mountains of northwestern Greece.  After the war,  she came to Ft. Lauderdale with her mother, two sisters, Sotiria and Aphrodite, and her brother, Vasilios. Her father, Theocharis Zophres was here already running a small hotel on Ft. Lauderdale beach.   In a romance fit for a movie, she met her husband, Andreas Tsiantar, via the mail. He too had worked for UNRAA and they were introduced to one another in letters and became pen pals. For about five years they wrote to one another-- he in Ghana and she in Ft. Lauderdale.  They met face to face in March, 1952 in Venice--and married a month and half later in Patras. Greece.  hey were married for 48 years- until 2000 when Andreas passed away. In 1957, they had their only child, Dody, 61, who resides in New York City with her spouse, Michael Ignatiou.   Vicky was one of the founding members of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox church, where she served as a dedicated choir member (she had a flawless alto voice), Greek school teacher, founder of the junior choir and a Sunday School director.  Anyone who knew her knows how much her faith and her Greek culture meant to her.  She loved the hymns-- and was fierce in her view that they should always be sung in Greek.    She loved classical music-- Mozart and Beethoven particularly--and played the piano. She also loved to paint--and was proud of the many works she'd completed, often showing them off to her visitors.    Her biggest pride and joy was her grandson, Andreas Ignatiou, 28, who now lives in Los Angeles. No one could bring a smile to her face faster. They had a special relationship.   She loved--and was loved--by her many nieces and nephews, her sibling's children here in Florida and many in Greece.     In short, Vicky loved people.  She had an impact on anyone who knew her-- her nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors. Children in the neighborhood called her Yiayia Vicky and would converge at her house to eat her homemade cookies.  Sometimes when parents could not find their children, they knew they were at Vicky's.     Simply put, Vicky was a force of nature-- a person, whose warmth, kindness, easy humor, feisty spirit, and sheer strength will never be forgotten.  Her family and friends will remember her with love and smiles always.  She is survived by her daughter, Dody, her son in law, Michael Ignatiou and her grandson, Andreas Ignatiou, her sister, Sotiria Penso, and her brother, Bill Zophres, and six nieces and nephews.  Visitation will be held Tuesday, July 10, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, T. M. Ralph Plantation Funeral Home 7001 NW 4th St Plantation, Florida 33317Funeral Services will be held at Wednesday, 11:00 AM, St Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church  815 NE 15th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304Interment will follow at Lauderdale Memorial Park Cemetery 2001 SW 4 Avenue  Fort Lauderdale, FloridaThe fmaily has requested that flowers can be sent to the funeral home or a donation in her memory, written to -- Doris Tsiantar-- with the notation for Agios Nektarios Monastery, Aegina, Greece. Funeral arrangements by T. M. Ralph Plantation Funeral Home 7001 NW 4 Street Plantation, FL 33317 954-587-6888 http://tmralph.com