Xanthy Stavropoulos passed away on January 4, 2025, aged 88 with her children at her side.
Xanthy was born in Philadelphia in 1936, an only child of immigrant parents from Peloponnisos, Greece – the late Nicolas and Adamantia Stathacopoulos. She grew up there and graduated from Philadelphia High School for Girls and then Pierce College.
In 1967, Xanthy married John (Yianni) Stavropoulos and two children quickly followed. In the early 70s, she, Yianni and their two young children pursued a new adventure and moved to London, England, where they resided for almost 30 years. Xanthy’s path led her to careers with a global publishing company and a UK human resources institute. She also studied photography at a technical college and exhibited with a photographic club.
Retirement in 1999 brought Xanthy and Yianni back to the US, initially to Mobile, Alabama for the first 15 years. Xanthy became a certified Alabama Master Gardener, received City of Mobile’s 2001 Person of the Year Award for civic volunteering and was a member of the church choir. Throughout her lifetime and ability, Xanthy was an active participant in the Greek Orthodox Church and Hellenic activities.
Since 2014, Xanthy returned to her roots in the North-East to Wilmington, Delaware, winding down gradually in the last chapter of her life.
Xanthy had a warm, generous and gregarious spirit, always inquisitive of different cultures and experiences and passionate about the arts. Throughout her life, she displayed a profound love and pride for her family and godchildren and a warm heart for the many friends she made. She will be greatly missed.
Xanthy was pre-deceased by her husband Yianni (2020), but is survived by her children and in-laws, Anastasia (Jim) and Aristide (Raquel), and her grandchildren Jessica, Adriana, Johnny and Dimitri.
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