Katherine (Vlazakis) Metzidakis

Katherine Metzidakis of Agawam, MA, passed away July 6th at Care One at Redstone in East Longmeadow.  She recently celebrated her 98th birthday, surrounded by her sons and family.  The daughter of Stamatios and Rhodo (Malaxianakis) Vlazakis, Katina was born in Springfield on Flag Day, June 14, 1924.  At the age of 3, after the tragic death of her older brother George, she and her parents moved to the city of Chania, located on the Greek island of Crete, where her parents had been born.  From 1941 until 1945, she and her family, which now included sisters Marika and Loula, lived under German occupation.  During WWII, Katina was a member of the Greek Resistance. After the war, because she was a US citizen, Katina was able to leave Greece.  She returned to the US in 1946, with the intention of working and then returning to Crete.  However, she met and married her late husband Steve Metzidakis (1990) in 1947 and lived in Springfield until 1984, when the couple moved to Agawam. Katina had been employed by W.F. Young and US Envelope.  She worked diligently for the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. George and its Philoptochos Society while she was a parishioner, and for over 20 years was a respected member of the Parent Committee of the St. George Olympians Drum and Bugle Corps.  Katina was a past member of the Cretan Ladies Society PROODOS and had served as its Recording Secretary.  She and Steve were Charter members of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Luke in East Longmeadow, working early on in its development.  She had been involved in a number of its committees and had served for many years as a workshop Chair for the annual Taste of Greece.  She was a Lifetime member of the Philoptochos Society.  Katina's name will remain synonymous with delicious food, wonderful company and a level of gracious hospitality that put all at ease.  She always enjoyed entertaining her family and friends.  She forever will be missed by her three sons and their wives: John and Susan of East Longmeadow, MA, Stamos and Sara of New York, NY, and George of Niantic, CT; her grandchildren: Gregory Metzidakis, Julia Metzidakis and her husband Daniel Terk, Katina Metzidakis and her husband Renzo Anfossi, and William Metzidakis and his wife Colleen; her great-grandchildren: Eli, Stella, Renzo, Ana Sofia, and William; her sister Loula Markakis, nieces Ekaterina Markakis, Marichrysa Markakis and nephew Markos Markakis and their families, of Chania and Athens; and extended family members and friends.  She was predeceased by her sister Marika Gregorakis of Chania, and her daughter-in-law Jane Metzidakis, who passed June 12, 2022. Katherine's family would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all health care providers who work so hard and diligently to assist those in need of so many services.  Thank you for all that you do. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 9, 2022, at St.Luke  Greek Orthodox Church, 400 Prospect Street, East Longmeadow.  Katherine will lie in state from 8:30a.m. -9:30a.m. The funeral service will begin at 9:30a.m.  Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the church. Arrangements entrusted to the Byron Keenan Funeral Home and Cremation Tribute Center, 1858 Allen Street, Springfield.