Mary Mirkopoulos

Mary MIRKOPOULOS

(nee KOPTERIDIS)

Mary was born in Kastoria, Greece on March 19, 1945. Mary's father Michael and sister Jenny immigrated to Canada in May 1963, then Mary followed them in November of that same year with her mother Efstratia, grandmother Polyxeni, sister Despina and brother Anthony.

Mary immediately entered Canada's workforce at a Toronto fur factory, where she worked during the day, while also attending night school to improve her English and then to learn hairstyling. With a friend, Mary later opened her own hairstyling salon on St. Clair near Victoria Park, where she excelled at her trade and built up a loyal client base that followed her in her later years.

On December 6, 1970, she married Lazaros (Larry) Mirkopoulos and over the years Mary was blessed with three boys – Ted, Jim and Michael – which they raised together in Richmond Hill, Ontario. To Mary, family was everything, so she loved to schedule family get-togethers and she especially enjoyed visiting her many relatives back in Greece whenever possible. She was also a woman of incredible faith, holding special reverence for her late father-in-law Reverend Father Theodore Mirkopoulos and she was privileged to travel to the Holy Lands with her husband and see both the birthplace and the tomb of Christ.

Mary intrepidly battled metastatic breast cancer for almost 20 years. The unusual duration of her struggle was due in no small part to her remarkable strength, her faith and her many supportive family members and spiritual Fathers, but Mary's endurance was also bolstered by her own doctors, Dr. John Dawson of Richmond Hill, Dr. Andrew Wojcicki of Vivian Forest, the oncology teams at Sunnybrook and Southlake Hospitals, and Drs. Rodriguez and Vazquez of International Biocare Hospital in Mexico. The family thanks these last two gentlemen for the many additional years of life that Mary enjoyed, especially getting to know and love her seven grandchildren.

While Mary's parents Michael and Efstratia Kopteridis are deceased, as well as her late brother-in-law Nick Mirkopoulos and her late son Ted Mirkopoulos, Mary leaves behind her doting husband of almost 45 years, Larry Mirkopoulos, her sons Jim and Michael Mirkopoulos along with daughters-in-law Stasy and Terri and Mary's treasure–trove of beautiful grandchildren: Mikaela, Maria, Theodore, Gabriel, Lazaros, Nikiforos and brand-new baby boy Antonios Mirkopoulos, who Mary had the pleasure of cuddling with during some of his very first naps.

Also Mary leaves behind her beloved siblings Jenny and George Kokkas, Despina and Elias Starogiannis, Anthony Kopteridis, as well as much-loved in-laws Steve and Carole Mirkopoulos, Achilleas and Kathy Mirkopoulos, Zoi Skondras, Ziki and Elham Damouni and Nikiforos Mirkopoulos of Kalohori, Greece and her cherished nephews and nieces George and Panayiota, Michael and Rana, Michael and Alise, Chrisoula and Siluck, Christina and George, Amalia and Jacqueline. Mary also had the blessing of being Godmother to Stephanie, Julianna and Magdalene and as such will be a special guardian angel for them from above.

Family and friends may visit at Elgin Mills Visitation Centre, 1591 Elgin Mills Road East, Richmond Hill, Ontario, 905-737-1720, on Tuesday, September 29th from 6:00 until 8:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held at St. Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Church, 11359 Warden Avenue, Markham, Ontario, on Wednesday, September 30th at 10 a.m. Interment to follow at Elgin Mills Cemetery.

Donations, in lieu of flowers, can be made to St. Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Church in Markham and the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Panagia in Toronto.

"The Church is a hospital not a court. It bestows forgiveness; it does not demand accountability for the sin. Say to God: "Against Thee only have I sinned and done this evil before Thee" (Ps. 50:6), and He will forgive you. Show Him that you repent, and He will have mercy on you. If we do our part, God will do His part." - St. John Chrysostom