Frances Fronista Batuyios

FRANCES FRONISTA BATUYIOS Frances Fronista Batuyios, 88, of Wilmington, NC, fell asleep in the Lord in the hope of the Resurrection at Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center, on April 30, 2015, in the loving presence of her family. Frances was born in Steubenville, Ohio, on June 28, 1926, the daughter of Elias and Aspacia Phillips Fronista. She was predeceased by her parents, her husband, James H. (Jimmy) Batuyios (1976); her brother, Harry Fronista (2012) and an infant sister, Flora (1926). At the age of five, she moved with her family to Astoria, Queens, NY. Frances attended P.S. 122 and graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in 1944, whereupon she went to work for Dun and Bradstreet. In August of 1945, she came to Wilmington with her brother to join their parents who had arrived in 1943-44 when her father opened the Roxy Cafe on Front Street between Grace and Walnut Street. She found employment in the passenger receipts division of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. In November 1946, she married James H. (Jimmy) Batuyios and lived briefly in Sunset Park before relocating with their young family to Klein Road in the Princess Place neighborhood, where she remained for the next 66 years, three fourths of her entire life. Over ensuing years, Frances was primarily a homemaker but also worked in several business enterprises owned and operated by her husband. Her "formal" working career ended in the period 1970-1975, when she served as events coordinator and restaurant manager at the Timme Plaza Hotel (now the Wilmington Hilton) on Water Street. Frances was a member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and of the Ladies Philoptochos Society (Friends of the Poor), the preeminent parish level charity of the Orthodox Church in this country. She was also a charter member of the Wilmington Chapter Therma #10 of the Pan-Icarian Brotherhood of America, an organization founded by Greek immigrants from their ancestral island of Icaria. She is survived by her three sons, Harry J. Batuyios of Tarpon Springs, Florida, Louis J. Batuyios (Nadine) of Wilmington, and William J. Batuyios, also of Wilmington; seven grandchildren, Jimmy and wife Courtney, Frances, and husband David, Johnny, Jamie, Michael and wife Kippy, Nicholas, Gregory and wife Sharon; and three precious granddaughters, Eleanor, Scarlett, and Isabella. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Monday, May 4, 2015, at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 608 South College Road, with Fr. Jon Emanuelson officiating with entombment at Greenlawn Memorial Park. Frances' grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Visitation will also be at the church from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. Sunday, May 3, 2015, with a Trisagion prayer service at 7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts and contributions may be made to the Ladies Philoptochos Society, St. Nicholas Greek Church, 608 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, or Lower Cape Fear Hospice & Life Care Center, 1414 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC, 28401. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.andrewsmortuary.com Andrews Mortuary Market Street Chapel