Georgia Koufakis killed in car crash

She was the liveliest 83-year-old I knew. Georgia Koufakis – loved, adored and respected by her family and friends – held a special place in my heart.
Tragically, the matriarch of her large, international family was killed in a car crash on Saturday, May 2.
The mother of three adored sons, John Jr., Steve and Michael, she spoke often of her loving daughters-in-law, whom she came to respect as she learned their cultures – Indian, Italian and Jewish – and they hers.
Ironically, her husband John, whom she married almost 60 years ago, was from a family from the same town in Crete as her family. He wooed the gorgeous Georgia and won her heart. I was privileged to call them friends, and I saw first hand how they adored each other.
They met in their teens and John courted her away from her many beaus. They went on a romantic honeymoon, crossing the country to California, and came home almost penniless. But, John got a job as a furrier, then a taxi driver and finally a Carvel franchise owner.
While he was at the Jamaica Avenue location, he sold used cars in the spacious parking lot. Before long, the car business outsold the ice cream. As an ambitious businessman he soon obtained a Chrysler dealership on the location and a dynasty of Star car dealerships began.
Georgia’s role was to take charge of the house and the family, and she did it superbly. John, her children and 11 grandchildren were the great joys of her life.
She lived each day to its fullest. As a joyful and positive person, she was great fun to be with all the time.
As her children grew, she got involved in community organizations, joining the Jamaica Estate Federation of Women and Nassau County Museum of Art. She was also a patron of the New York Institute of Technology and a benefactor to the church she and John helped to build. She was always giving back, grateful for the great success of her family, often inviting people to her gorgeous home.
The priest at the funeral service, held at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Brookville, Long Island, shared that the word family is an acronym meaning “Forget About Me, It’s Loving You.”
Georgia’s life was the epitome of this. She will forever hold a special place in our hearts.