Rachel Stavrolakis

1927 - 2022

STAVROLAKIS (GALLUP), Rachel

Rachel Gallup Stavrolakis, age 94, of Colfax, North Carolina, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, passed peacefully on November 16, 2022, after a two-year period of declining health due to complications from a fall. She died eighteen days before her ninety-fifth birthday. Born in Morris Plains, New Jersey, on December 4, 1927, she was the only child of Walter Alva Gallup and Ruth Elinor Beers Gallup. She attended local schools in Morris Plains where her mother's Beers family had lived for many generations. She graduated from Simmons College in Boston with a B.S. in Library Science in 1949. She was a lover of books and worked as a librarian both early in her career and later after her youngest child was in school. Both her mother and great-aunt were librarians, and she was proud to carry on the tradition.

After marrying in 1951, and having five children while living in various cities following her husband's corporate career, the family settled in Atlanta, Georgia in 1971, where she would spend the next fifty-two years. In 2013, she relocated to a retirement community in North Carolina to be closer to family.

Rachel was predeceased by her parents and her husband, James. She is survived by her five children, Kris Moroney and Jim, of Manchester, Massachusetts, Alex Stavrolakis and Patti, of Greensboro, North Carolina, Marianthe Mewkill, of Manchester, Massachusetts, Stacy Fletcher and John, of Little Rock, Arizona, and Andrew Cox-Stavros and Martha, of Manchester, Massachusetts. She is also survived by her thirteen grandchildren: Stephanie, Lexi, Allie, Christopher, Heather, Anna, Sonia, Emily, Presley, Alex, Hutch, Pippa and Arabella. She will be greatly missed.

At her request, burial will be in her family's plot, Evergreen Cemetery in Morristown, New Jersey. Services are planned for 9:30 AM, December 3, 2022, at Dangler Funeral Home, Morris Plains, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to the Hospice of the Piedmont, High Point, North Carolina, Simmons University School of Library & Information Science, or to the charity of your choice.

Hanes Lineberry North Elm Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.