Presvytera Panayiota "Yota" Pieratos

Presvytera Panayiota "Yota" Pieratos was called home by our Lord on October 11, 2023, after a brief illness. She had the good fortune of enjoying 88 years of life as a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many.
Presvytera Yota was born in the village of Kangadi in the Peloponnese, Southern Greece area; 2nd of 7 sisters, to Dimitrios and Konstantina Pantelis. As a young girl, she experienced the Nazi occupation in WWII, and the Greek Civil War that occurred immediately afterwards, and related at times some of the atrocities that she saw at a young age. In her teens, as was customary among many affluent couples in the 1950s, she was sponsored by two childless couples and was taken to Athens, where she lived and learned to cook, clean, and otherwise take care of the couples' needs. Despite appearances, she was treated more like a daughter than what some would consider to be a house maid. When she came of age to be married, she was introduced to her future husband, the late Father Spiro Pieratos, and after a long-distance relationship consisting of the exchange of multiple handwritten letters. Father Pieratos went to Greece, married Yota, and brought her back to the United States, which served as home base for most of her life.
She served faithfully as a Presvytera in 4 different parishes and being a mother of two sons. In addition, during that time, because Presvytera and Father Spiro both dreamed of retiring to Greece, she helped in planning where they would live and was instrumental in the selection and purchase of a small apartment in Voula near Athens, and later the building of a home in the village of her birth. After Father Spiro retired, Yota and Father Spiro spent their time travelling back and forth together every year between Greece and California until Father's passing in 2014 after 58 years of marriage, and when in the States, she enjoyed the company of her grandchildren and her many friends. She continued her travel routine for the next 9 years; the last trip of which led to her final passing.
She is survived by both her sons, Dennis (Louisa) Pieratos and Jim Pieratos and 4 grandchildren (Panayiota, Nicholas, Joanna, and Spiro).
Trisagion and funeral services will be held consecutively at Saint Nectarios Greek Orthodox Church in Covina, CA on Thursday, October 26, 2023, beginning at 10:30am. Following the Trisagion, there will be a brief coffee hour, and burial services will conclude at Rose Hills, Whittier, CA at approximately 12:30pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully prefers donations to be made to Saint Nectarios Church and Shrine, 20340 E. Covina Blvd., Covina, CA 91724.
Arrangements under the direction of Chapman Funeral Homes - Mary Harmon, owner. Toll free (855) 628-0447.
______________________________
Obituary notice for Chapman Funeral Homes. Please visit www.chapmanfunerals.com. American Obituary is a Baywalk Marketing service. facebook.com/AmericanObituary - twitter.com/AmericaObituary