Irene (Kolokithas) Demas was born to Stefanos Kolokithas (1917-2010) and Vasiliki Smaragdi (1925-2019).

Written by Irene (Kolokithas) Demas

My father was Stefanos Kolokithas who was married to Vasiliki Smaragdi from Anatoliki Fragista. They lived together with my grandmother Vasiliki and my uncle Kleomeni (Menio). Our house was next to the Church of the Twelve Apostles. They were forced to leave Viniani due to the Civil War and they settled in Athens.

I was born in Athens on March of 1949 and we lived there until the war ended. Returning to Viniani, they had to repair the house and farms that were abandoned. My family grew as subsequently my three younger sisters were born. We played simple games (hide and seek etc) and did not have toys like the children today. However, we had no complaints about the things we did not have. I remember those years fondly. When I was seven years old, I went to elementary school. Then, I went to Karpenisi for high school. After finishing high school, I went to the Academy of Pedagogy (Teachers College) in Lamia.

In 1969, our entire family immigrated to the United States of America. We settled in Astoria, NY along with many other Greek immigrant families. St. Demetrios in Astoria had the largest Greek American school and there I found a job and was hired as a teacher to teach the Greek language.

In 1976, I met my husband, Aristidis Demas and got married later that year. We had two daughters, Effie and Stephanie. Effie is married to Athanasios Siamas and has two children, Nicoletta and Tommy. Stephanie is married to Tony Prassos and has three daughters, Alexis, Melania, and Georgia.

I continued working as a Greek teacher for about 40 years. Now, my husband and I are retired, we travel as much as we can, and we enjoy helping with our grandchildren who are the love of our lives.