Panagiota Bekiari-Kollarou, or Titsa – as most people knew her – passed away on May 26, 2022.

Grandma Titsa was not a grandma who would bake you cookies and feed you with fury until you burst. She was an advanced and cool Grandma.
She watched every tennis tournament fiercely, and stayed up until dawn to watch the Australian Open and Rolland Garros matches. When in the 1950-60s they all wore below-the-knee skirts she wore sneakers and Champion overalls. She played tennis and watched TV with Grandpa Aleko, whom she called “Manoulako”. When they were young they would go out playing cards, bowling, playing chess, ping pong and skiing.
Grandma liked to play games on her computer while watching thriller shows on TV. She liked it when you joined her in bed and watched TV together. Even better if you gave her cuddles, especially back massages.

She used to call all the girls in the family “baby doll”. Every day she drank Coke, Greek coffee and smoked silk cigarettes. She was brilliant and won all the prizes and scholarships from primary school to the end of her studies in psychology in America. She opened a psychology school in the 70’s and then a school for special needs children and worked hard, despite all the obstacles, to keep it open for many years.
Yiayia was an introvert by nature and so she always had a tendency to close herself off. But she always had a warmth, a sense of humor and was eager to join you and spend beautiful moments together, with movies, hugs and stories.

She had a hard time in her last few years and overcame cancer once. She never, not until the last minute, wanted to be treated like a baby, she was always independent and stubborn and wanted things done her way. She was from a young age a genuine rebel in her beliefs and in her refusal to be like other women of the time. That’s why she stood out to all of us who knew her well. Titsa in 1957 at the age of 17, boarded a ship alone to cross the Atlantic to Minneapolis, America for her senior year of high school. There she learned amazing rock n roll, dancing to the end. At the time, such a trip was almost unthinkable, but Yiayia was always strong and brave. So I have no doubt that on this journey that she has now taken away from us, she will do well… She will always be in our hearts and her presence will always be with us.”