Edna Barrett Panagiotakos

Beloved mother, grandmother, great grandmother, godmother, aunt and friend;

Edna Barrett Panagiotakos, 88, of Lowell, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday December 3, 2025, surrounded by her loving family.

She was the loving wife for 63 years of the late William Steve Panagiotakos, who died on February 15, 2022.

Born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, July 17, 1937, the daughter of the late Stewart and the late Ethel Pauline (Brandenburg) Barrett, she attended Catholic school, Martinsburg public schools and was a graduate of Martinsburg High School.

A devoted mother of four, she worked in her early days in the office at Interwoven Garment Company in Martinsburg, and after raising her children in Lowell, she worked at the Card Cottage in Westford. MA for several years welcoming all that entered and making suggestions for gifts which she had a knack for, at 59 when some are thinking of retirement, she embarked on a 20 year career as a Payroll Administrator at Marathon Staffing in Tyngsborough, MA

Edna is survived by her four children, Steven C. Panagiotakos and his wife Christine (Hondras), Sophia D. Arguoyan and her husband John, Athena E. Panagiotakos and her husband Christos Panagiotopoulos, and Christopher P. Panagiotakos and his wife Kelly (Enwright); her grandchildren, Jonathan Arguoyan and his wife Preethi, Christopher Arguoyan, Giana Panagiotakos and her wife Stephanie, Alexandria Panagiotakos and her fiancée Joseph Healey, Christopher Panagiotopoulos and his wife Judith, Stephen Panagiotopoulos, Christian Enwright and his wife Kaylee; and great-grandchildren, Armaan and Nikhil Arguoyan, Georgia, Sophia and Emilia Panagiotopoulos, and Violet and Silas Enwright; her godchildren, many nieces and nephews, among them Victor Barrett and Debbie Weaver of West Virginia and Becky Barrett of Virginia.

She was predeceased by her siblings, Charles Barrett and his wife Frances, Victor E. Barrett, Sr. and Phyllis Fellers, her father and mother-in-law Stavros and Archondoula (Anagnostakos) Panagiotakos and sister and brother in laws Helen and Charles Dino Platanites, Stamatina and Christos Rouses, Kaliope Carol and George Sakelakos, Evangelia Eve and Charlie Vergos, Peter Panagiotakos, Mary and George Rodgers, Cleopatra Panagiotakos and Gregory Panagiotakos. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Janet Panagiotakos of Salisbury.

The greatest earthly Blessing, which God can give someone, is a Loving Mother, and she was that in every sense of the term. Like most families in our Highlands neighborhood, we did not have a lot in material wealth but we had each other. And most of all, we had her. Her support and encouragement never wavered. Her kindness and prayers never ceased. She was the center that kept us grounded and together.

Our house at 226 Gibson Street was a sorority for her daughters and their friends, a place of refuge for her sons and theirs and a summer retreat for some of the West Virginia nieces and nephews, who would come up to visit, and their Lowell friends. She welcomed everyone and would squish in an extra seat or two into our already cramped kitchen table to accommodate our friends for meals.

Holidays were always special, especially Christmas, which she loved. She always made sure that the reason for the season, the birth of Jesus, was always remembered and celebrated, even in the midst of all the lights, decorations and presents. Every year, starting in January, she would devise her Christmas strategy, using layaways, Christmas club and annual sales to make sure the Christmas tree would be swallowed up with presents. Each one beautifully wrapped and tagged for us and many others, who she gave to, especially her nieces and nephews in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Her mother, raised nine of those nieces and nephews in a three bedroom apartment at the Wilson Street Housing Project and Edna's love would make that 500 mile trek regularly during those years with clothes and presents for Christmas, because, as she would teach us, that's what families do.

Lowell became her home but her heart was never far from Martinsburg. Whenever John Denver's "Country Roads" came into earshot, her face would beam with pride and those "Wild and Wonderful" stories would follow.

The memories of her packing us into our station wagon with our friends and taking us to Salisbury or Hampton or Silver Lake for the day, remain special times. As does, her scraping through the bottom of her pocketbook to find us change for the ice cream man and her beautiful voice teaching us the song "Jesus Loves Me".

She was a devout member of the St. George's Antiochian Orthodox Church and expressed her Faith not so much in words but in action. Her example of helping others became foundational for her children.

Her only vice was shopping. If anyone called to see if she wanted to go shopping, she was ready in five minutes, anything else, an hour. She might not have been known in the five boroughs but she was definitely known in every Christmas Tree Shop from Nashua to the Cape. "Just get two" was her shopping mantra.

She loved to dress fashionably and she sure did. Leopard prints and purple on purple were her favorites. High heels right until a few years ago were a must.

Her final journey was not over a country road but over a holy road that leads to Heaven, leaving a legacy of Love to comfort us.

Thank you, Mama…Thank you.

When the end comes…what we'll cherish most

Are the times we spent…not the things we owned.

That's what it's all about.

The rest we can live without.

Friends may call on Wednesday December 10, 2025, at the O'DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in LOWELL from 3 to 7 P.M. Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service to be celebrated Thursday December 11, 2025, at ST. GEORGE ANTIOCHIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH 44 BOWERS ST. in LOWELL at 10 o'clock. (Please Meet at Church). Burial to follow at the Westlawn Cemetery. E-condolences/directions at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in her memory to St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church, 44 Bowers St., Lowell, MA 01854 or to The Tunnel to Towers Foundation (t2t.org). Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O'Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768.