Obituary of Lefki Ristas

Mrs. Lefki (Lefkothea) Ristas passed away on August 27, 2014 in Charlotte, NC, in the presence of her daughter, Maria Williams. Lefki was born in Kapareli, Greece, in 1918 to John and Maria Deffigos. An excellent student, Lefki won a scholarship and graduated from the prestigious Arsakeion teachers college in Athens. She taught grades K-8 in a one room schoolhouse during the German occupation of Greece in WWII, and in 1947 came to the U.S., where she married James Ristas, of Elyria, Ohio. They settled in Denville, NJ, near her brother Spiros Deffigos and in 1958 moved to Dover, NJ. During the 1950’s under the auspices of an organization of mostly immigrant Greek families in Dover, Lefki taught Greek language, culture, and dancing after the regular school day to their children. During the 1960’s and into the 1980’s she continued teaching in Morristown, NJ and Dover, NJ, under the auspices of the St. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church of Orange, NJ and the St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church of Dover and now Randolph, NJ. Lefki also was a frequent substitute teacher in the lower grades of the East Dover Elementary School, under principal Selikson. Lefki was a strict but loving taskmaster who achieved impressive results. Her student productions of poetry, plays, and dancing for major religious and patriotic holidays often prompted tears as well as vigorous applause from the audiences, and her students won numerous academic competitions against students from larger Greek schools in New York City. After retiring, she continued teaching by giving private lessons to Greek-American children and non-Greeks. After losing her husband, Lefki moved to Windsor, CT to live with her son, Lombro James Ristas and his wife Peggy Lee. Lefki sang in the choir of the St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Hartford. She later moved to Charlotte, NC to live with her widowed daughter Maria. Lefki leaves grandchildren James Ristas and wife Jennifer Graham of Shrewsbury, MA and Valerie and husband Matthew Beyranevand of Bolton, MA. In Charlotte, NC she leaves Gary Jr. and wife LeAnn, and John and wife Lavonna. She leaves great grandchildren Emily, Alexander, Nicholas, Gary III, Zariah, Davion and Dejah. Until her health deteriorated, Lefki spent each summer in Greece and kept up relations with family members there. In her final years, she suffered and died from Alzheimer’s disease. Funeral arrangements have been made through the Tuttle Funeral Home, 272 State Route 10, Randolph, NJ (www.tuttlefh.com). The immediate family will receive well-wishers on Friday, September 12, 2014 between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The funeral service will be held at the St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, 1447 Sussex Turnpike, Randolph NJ, 07869, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 13, 2014 with burial to follow immediately thereafter at the Locust Hill Cemetery, Dover. The family requests that In lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made to St. Andrew Greek Orthodox Church, with designation for the Hellenic Afternoon School.