Dorothy Pliakas

Dorothy (Strickland) Pliakas was born in 1929 and raised in the Greater Chicago area. She was the daughter of Greek immigrants from Smyrna (Izmir) in Asia Minor the late Otto Soteriadhes (aka Strickland) and the late Rea Garoufalidou. Dorothy had one sibling, her late, beloved older brother Byron, who predeceased her in 2012. Dorothy was the wife of the late Eustace T. Pliakas of Providence, Rhode Island. They were married from September 9, 1950, until June of 2010, when Eustace passed away at age 85.
Dorothy leaves behind her three children, Paul of Pawtucket, Stephen of Hamden, Connecticut, and Rhea of the Bronx, New York, her five grandchildren, Elena Pliakas, and Tessa Pliakas (Paul's daughters), Thalis Zikos and Nikias Zikos (Rhea's sons), and Toella T. Pliakas (Stephen's daughter).
Dorothy was gifted intellectually, graduating as valedictorian of her class at Lyden High School in Franklin Park, Illinois. Then, at a time when women were not generally encouraged to seek higher education, she graduated and earned a Bachelors Degree from the University of Chicago in only two years. Dorothy was artistically talented. She was an accomplished sketch artist, drawer and painter.
At the University of Chicago, Dorothy met her husband, Eustace T. Pliakas, generally known by his middle name, Theodore, shortened to "Ted". Ted also attended the University of Chicago on the GI Bill following his service in World War II. She was fond of saying, up until the very last months of her life, that at the University of Chicago she was "looking for a handsome blue-eyed Greek". Ted was her handsome blue-eyed Greek. The couple married in Chicago in 1950 and moved to Rhode Island after Ted completed his undergraduate studies and earned his law degree at the University of Chicago in 1951.
Dorothy was a perfectionist and she was not afraid to offer criticism when she felt it was called for. She held high standards, and she was meticulous in her approach to virtually everything she did. As a mother, she could be critical, and, at times, demanding, but always in keeping with her goal of imparting her own high standards and quest for excellence onto her children and others whom she encountered and who she wished to succeed.
Dorothy was kind and giving, too. She loved her volunteer work helping new immigrants to the United States learn English and earn their GEDs. She was never shy about correcting other people's grammar when they mis-spoke, she was particularly good at helping her charges learn to speak proper English, and they always appreciated and loved her as well.
Dorothy was an excellent cook. She approached cooking with the same sense of perfectionism with which she approached nearly everything else that she did. Her baklava was deemed the best even by native Greeks like her son-in-law.
Dorothy was a life-long, FDR style Democrat based on her experiences of living through the Great Depression, World War II, the Jim Crow era, Civil Rights for women's Liberation, and the Equal Rights Movement.
Dorothy was very loyal to her family, and her close circle of friends. Some of her best moments were when she helped her children cope with the stresses of adolescence, and helping family members deal with trauma and tragedy. She was filled with dignity, integrity, decency and responsibility. She was a loving, affectionate, responsible and caring wife and mother. Dorothy loved her family and they always loved her back. She was especially fond of her five grandchildren and was always happiest when she was together with her entire family.
We love her, we hold her dear, we miss her deeply and we always will, and somehow we hold fast to the hope and belief that she is always with us, standing over and correcting us when necessary, holding us up when we needed to be held up, offering us her sage advice and calm and compassionate judgment and reminding us always that life is precious and short and what matters most is that we treat one another with love and that we extend our love and forgiveness to others.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service, Saturday, April 1 at 10am in the Church of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, Cranston. Burial will follow in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence. Visitation will be Friday from 4pm until 7pm in the "WOODLAWN" Funeral Home, 600 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston.
Please share memories and condolences at www.WoodlawnRI.com
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