Individual Details
Panagiota or Bertha Pappas
(29 Jun 1918 - 19 Mar 2007)
Breast cancer at age 80.
Yiayia told Aunt Bertha's godmother that she wanted Bertha to be named Stathoula, after her mother, but at the time of her christening, Bertha's godmother named her Panayiota after her husband, and she was baptized with that name. When Bertha was born, Yiayia wanted the name Stathoula on her birth certificate, but the doctor spelled it "Stefano." When Bertha went to school, the teacher didn't know how to spell or pronounce Panayiota so she called her "Bertha". (Discussion, Bertha to Carol Petranek Aug. 2, 2003).
Carol Petranek wrote a personal history for Bertha & Nick Pappas. A copy is in Carol's possession; copies were given to Bertha & Nick and each of their sons, John & Louis.
STORY:
Sunday night Oct 30 1938... My mother and Aunt Kay, listenedto the original "War of the Worlds". My Uncle Bill came rushing hom ea couple of hours later worried about an alien invasion. As always the graciousbig sisters (NOT!), they laughed and teased him unmercifully for years after!
Louis Pouletsos, post on FB, Oct 20, 2016
Bertha Pouletsos Eulogy
March 23, 2007
Bertha was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She always talked of her happy childhood and enjoyed her time with friends and cousins, especially the times they all took the ferry to New York City to attend Greek school.
During World War II, she worked at an electronics company that manufactured “tubes” for two-way radios.
After the war, she was introduced to the brother-in-law of her friend Irene Kiprios-Pouletsos. Bertha married Nick Pouletsos in 1948.
Nick and Bertha settled in Hillsdale, New Jersey and began to raise their two sons, John and Louis. While Nick was holding a regular job, Bertha worked “like a dog” (her words) in the greenhouses, with her favorite crops being Easter lillies and chrysanthemums.
In 1963, Nick was transferred to Long Island. He rented a room there and would come home to Hillsdale every Friday night. For the next year, Bertha and her children lived in a studio apartment connected to the greenhouses. Every weekend, Bertha, Nick and the children traveled to Long island to shp for a new home and later watched it being built in Port Jefferson Station.
For the next 44 years, Nick and Bertha raised their sons in that house, saw them marry and have families of their own.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bertha was very active in the Greek Orthodox Church in Port Jefferson, focusing on youth programs such as the youth orchestra and Jr. GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America). She was always called upon for fundraising activities and large projects such as cleaning the candle soot from the walls, chandeliers and icons in the church. She was on the original committee for the August 15th family picnic that was to eventually become the Greekfest the entire community enjoys today. Throughout her life she was a deeply religious woman and lived her life with kindness, honesty and reverence.
During the early days on Long Island, Bertha loved showing off her fishing abilities to her husband and sons. Later in life she was happy to cruise the Long island Sound or just sit at the dock.
She never gave up the chance to tend to her flowerbeds and in her final years, potted plants made her happy.
Bertha adored her three grandchildren and loved to spoil them. All three of them spent many days and nights at Yiayia and Papou’s house, loving every minute of it. This was the inspiration for the Christmas present that Nikki gave her that was inscribed “Who needs a fairy godmother when you have a Yiayia?”
When Bertha started to advance in her illness, she spent as much time with the family as possible. Near the end of her life, although she wouldn’t remember day to day, she became excited whenever she met her new great-granddaughter, Maddison.
Bertha was a loving wife, beloved mother and mother-in-law, cherished by family members and friends. She has left us all with very happy memories and we will always cherish them.
Written by her sons and their wives: John & Cheryl, Debbie & Lou Pouletsos
Carol Petranek wrote a family history on the Pouletsos family with the help of Uncle Nick Pouletsos, for the 50th anniversary of Bertha and Nick Pouletsos. Copy in possession of Carol Petranek.
Social Security Death Index
Name: Bertha Pouletsos
Date of Birth: Saturday June 29, 1918
Date of Death: Monday March 19, 2007
Est. Age at death: 88 years, 8 months, 18 days
Last known residence:
City: Port Jefferson Station; Terryville
County: Suffolk
State: New York
ZIP Code: 11776
Latitude: 40.9145
Longitude: -73.0443
Confirmation: Verified
Social Security details:
State of Issue: New Jersey
Number: 138-12-1445
Yiayia told Aunt Bertha's godmother that she wanted Bertha to be named Stathoula, after her mother, but at the time of her christening, Bertha's godmother named her Panayiota after her husband, and she was baptized with that name. When Bertha was born, Yiayia wanted the name Stathoula on her birth certificate, but the doctor spelled it "Stefano." When Bertha went to school, the teacher didn't know how to spell or pronounce Panayiota so she called her "Bertha". (Discussion, Bertha to Carol Petranek Aug. 2, 2003).
Carol Petranek wrote a personal history for Bertha & Nick Pappas. A copy is in Carol's possession; copies were given to Bertha & Nick and each of their sons, John & Louis.
STORY:
Sunday night Oct 30 1938... My mother and Aunt Kay, listenedto the original "War of the Worlds". My Uncle Bill came rushing hom ea couple of hours later worried about an alien invasion. As always the graciousbig sisters (NOT!), they laughed and teased him unmercifully for years after!
Louis Pouletsos, post on FB, Oct 20, 2016
Bertha Pouletsos Eulogy
March 23, 2007
Bertha was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She always talked of her happy childhood and enjoyed her time with friends and cousins, especially the times they all took the ferry to New York City to attend Greek school.
During World War II, she worked at an electronics company that manufactured “tubes” for two-way radios.
After the war, she was introduced to the brother-in-law of her friend Irene Kiprios-Pouletsos. Bertha married Nick Pouletsos in 1948.
Nick and Bertha settled in Hillsdale, New Jersey and began to raise their two sons, John and Louis. While Nick was holding a regular job, Bertha worked “like a dog” (her words) in the greenhouses, with her favorite crops being Easter lillies and chrysanthemums.
In 1963, Nick was transferred to Long Island. He rented a room there and would come home to Hillsdale every Friday night. For the next year, Bertha and her children lived in a studio apartment connected to the greenhouses. Every weekend, Bertha, Nick and the children traveled to Long island to shp for a new home and later watched it being built in Port Jefferson Station.
For the next 44 years, Nick and Bertha raised their sons in that house, saw them marry and have families of their own.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bertha was very active in the Greek Orthodox Church in Port Jefferson, focusing on youth programs such as the youth orchestra and Jr. GOYA (Greek Orthodox Youth of America). She was always called upon for fundraising activities and large projects such as cleaning the candle soot from the walls, chandeliers and icons in the church. She was on the original committee for the August 15th family picnic that was to eventually become the Greekfest the entire community enjoys today. Throughout her life she was a deeply religious woman and lived her life with kindness, honesty and reverence.
During the early days on Long Island, Bertha loved showing off her fishing abilities to her husband and sons. Later in life she was happy to cruise the Long island Sound or just sit at the dock.
She never gave up the chance to tend to her flowerbeds and in her final years, potted plants made her happy.
Bertha adored her three grandchildren and loved to spoil them. All three of them spent many days and nights at Yiayia and Papou’s house, loving every minute of it. This was the inspiration for the Christmas present that Nikki gave her that was inscribed “Who needs a fairy godmother when you have a Yiayia?”
When Bertha started to advance in her illness, she spent as much time with the family as possible. Near the end of her life, although she wouldn’t remember day to day, she became excited whenever she met her new great-granddaughter, Maddison.
Bertha was a loving wife, beloved mother and mother-in-law, cherished by family members and friends. She has left us all with very happy memories and we will always cherish them.
Written by her sons and their wives: John & Cheryl, Debbie & Lou Pouletsos
Carol Petranek wrote a family history on the Pouletsos family with the help of Uncle Nick Pouletsos, for the 50th anniversary of Bertha and Nick Pouletsos. Copy in possession of Carol Petranek.
Social Security Death Index
Name: Bertha Pouletsos
Date of Birth: Saturday June 29, 1918
Date of Death: Monday March 19, 2007
Est. Age at death: 88 years, 8 months, 18 days
Last known residence:
City: Port Jefferson Station; Terryville
County: Suffolk
State: New York
ZIP Code: 11776
Latitude: 40.9145
Longitude: -73.0443
Confirmation: Verified
Social Security details:
State of Issue: New Jersey
Number: 138-12-1445
Events
| Birth | 29 Jun 1918 | Hoboken, Hudson, New Jersey, United States |  | ||
| Christen | Sep 1918 | St. Nicholas Ch, New York City, New York, United States | |||
| Census | 1920 | Hoboken, Hudson, New Jersey, United States |  | | |
| Residence | 1920 | Relation to Head: Daughter; Residence Marital Status: Single - Hoboken Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey, United States | | ||
| Residence-shared | 1939 | (Louis Peter Pappas) Hoboken, Hudson, New Jersey, United States | | ||
| News article | 5 Apr 1946 | Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States | | | |
| Marriage | 6 Jun 1948 | Jersey City, Hudson, New Jersey, United States - Nicholas John Pouletsos | | | |
| Residence | 1950 | 72 Ruckman Road, Hillsdale, Bergen, New Jersey, United States | | ||
| Census | 1950 | Hillsdale, Bergen, New Jersey, United States | | | |
| Burial | 2007 | Calverton, Suffolk, New York, United States | |||
| Death | 19 Mar 2007 | Port Jefferson Station, Suffolk, New York, United States | | | |
| Obituary | 23 Mar 2007 | Port Jefferson Station, Suffolk, New York, United States | | ||
| Alt name | Panagiota Stefano Pappas | ||||
| FamilySearch ID | M4MD-6S9 | ||||
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Families
| Spouse | Nicholas John Pouletsos (1917 - 2010) |
| Child | John Nicholas Pouletsos (1950 - 2018) |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Louis Peter Pappas (1882 - 1944) |
| Mother | Angelina K. Eftaxias (1896 - 1972) |
| Sibling | Peter Louis Pappas (1915 - 1916) |
| Sibling | Pappas (1916 - 1916) |
| Sibling | Catherine Pappas (1917 - 2011) |
| Sibling | Nicholas James Pappas (1919 - 1995) |
| Sibling | William Louis Pappas (1921 - 1998) |
Notes
Census
1920 US CensusHoboken Ward 1, District 0062, Hoboken, Hudson, New Jersey
enumerated January 10, 1920
91 Court Street
Pappas, Louis, Head, rents, male, white, age 43, married, immigrated 1909, alien, can read and write; born in Greece, parents born in Greece; speaks English, occupation: waiter, restaurant.
Pappas, Angeline, wife, female, white, age 24, married, immigrated 1909, alien, cannot red or write, born in Greece; parents born in Greece, cannot speak English; no occupation
Pappas, Carton, son [should be Catherine, daughter], m [should be female], age 2 and 9/12; born in New Jersey, parents born in Greece
Pappas, Mary [should be Bertha], daughter, female, white, age 1 7/12; born in New Jersey, parents born in Greece
Pappas, Nicholas, son, male, white, age 3/12; born in New Jersey, parents born in Greece
Source: Ancestry.com
Source CitationYear: 1920; Census Place: Hoboken Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey; Roll:T625_1041; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 62; Image: 920DescriptionEnumeration District : 0062; Description: Hoboken City, Ward 1 (part), Election District 1 bounded by 1st, Hudson River, City line, Washington extdSource InformationAncestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
Original data: Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
URL page 1:
http://interactive.ancestry.com/6061/4313342-00920/75460646?backurl=http%3a%2f%2ftrees.ancestry.com%2ftree%2f35043080%2fperson%2f18738990947%2fhints%2fpending%3fpg%3d32768%26pgpl%3dpid%26msg%3dntm%26msgParams%3d%257c5%257c5%257c%26mpid%3d18738990947%26shid%3d3277136295%26nec%3d1%26mdbid%3d6061%26mrpid%3d75460646&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnToTree#?imageId=4313342-00919
URL page 2:
http://interactive.ancestry.com/6061/4313342-00920/75460646?backurl=http%3a%2f%2ftrees.ancestry.com%2ftree%2f35043080%2fperson%2f18738990947%2fhints%2fpending%3fpg%3d32768%26pgpl%3dpid%26msg%3dntm%26msgParams%3d%257c5%257c5%257c%26mpid%3d18738990947%26shid%3d3277136295%26nec%3d1%26mdbid%3d6061%26mrpid%3d75460646&ssrc=&backlabel=ReturnToTree#?imageId=4313342-00920
Residence-shared
Bill's Junior High Diploma 1939153 1st Street Hoboken
News article
Brooklyn Daily EagleApril 5, 1946, p. 14
bklyn.newspapers.com (Brooklyn Public Library)
URL: http://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/52894362
accessed January 20, 2015
Aphrodite Semetis Honored at Shower
Mrs. George P. Semetis of 300 Washington Ave. honored her sister-in-law, Miss Aphrodite Semetis, also of Brooklyn, at a shower at her home on Sunday. Miss Semetis is the fiancee of George John Doukas of Brooklyn and Patchogue. Their wedding will take place April 28 in St. Constantine's Greek Orthodox Church. Among the guests were Mrs. Aspasia Semetis, mother of the bride-elect; Mrs. Constance Doukas, mother of the bridegroom-elect; Mrs. John Gabriel, Mrs. George Cassos, Mrs. Nicholas Aridas, Mrs. Nicholas Laricos, Mrs. Chris Aridas, Mrs. George Vassar, Mrs. Nicholas Kasivardas, Mrs. Lee Kajouras, Mrs. Louis Pappas, Mrs. Harry Francis, the Misses Irene Doukas, Katherine Maras, Helen Doukas, Bertha Pappas, Harriet Semetis, Tula Vassar, Katherine Pappas, Georgia Kostakos, Mary Vassar, Mary Vichenchos, Alice Kostakos, Stella Zakas and Helen Vassar.
Marriage
Married in St. Demetrios Church.Census
1950 US CensusHillsdale, Washington Township, Bergen, New Jersey
Enumberation District 2-298
Lines 6-8
Address: Ruckman Road (no house number)
Pouletsos, Nicholas J., head, white, male, age 33, married; born in Oklahoma; at work, worked 48 hours as a florist salesman
Pouletsos, Bertha, wife, white, female, age 31, married; born in N.J., at home
Pouletsos, John N., son, white, male, age: born in April; in New Jersey
Source: FamilySearch; accessed April 2021
Death
Social Security Death IndexBertha Pouletsos
Birth:June 29 1918
Death:Mar 19 2007
Last residence: Port Jefferson Station, New York 11776, USA
SSN issuing state:New Jersey
Obituary
Bertha Pouletsos EulogyMarch 23, 2007
Bertha was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. She always talked of her happy childhood and enjoyed
her time with friends and cousins, especially the times they all took the ferry to New York City to
attend Greek school.
During World War II, she worked at an electronics company that manufactured “tubes” for two way radios.
After the war, she was introduced to the brother-in-law of her friend Irene Kiprios-Pouletsos.
Bertha married Nick Pouletsos in 1948.
Nick and Bertha settled in Hillsdale, New Jersey and began to raise their two sons, John and
Louis. While Nick was holding a regular job, Bertha worked “like a dog” (her words) in the
greenhouses, with her favorite crops being Easter lillies and chrysanthemums.
In 1963, Nick was transferred to Long Island. He rented a room there and would come home to
Hillsdale every Friday night. For the next year, Bertha and her children lived in a studio
apartment connected to the greenhouses. Every weekend, Bertha, Nick and the children traveled
to Long island to shp for a new home and later watched it being built in Port Jefferson Station.
For the next 44 years, Nick and Bertha raised their sons in that house, saw them marry and have
families of their own.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Bertha was very active in the Greek Orthodox Church in Port
Jefferson, focusing on youth programs such as the youth orchestra and Jr. GOYA (Greek
Orthodox Youth of America). She was always called upon for fundraising activities and large
projects such as cleaning the candle soot from the walls, chandeliers and icons in the church. She
was on the original committee for the August 15th family picnic that was to eventually become
the Greekfest the entire community enjoys today. Throughout her life she was a deeply religious
woman and lived her life with kindness, honesty and reverence.
During the early days on Long Island, Bertha loved showing off her fishing abilities to her
husband and sons. Later in life she was happy to cruise the Long island Sound or just sit at the
dock.
She never gave up the chance to tend to her flowerbeds and in her final years, potted plants made her happy.
Bertha adored her three grandchildren and loved to spoil them. All three of them spent many days and nights at Yiayia and Papou’s house, loving every minute of it. This was the inspiration for
the Christmas present that Nikki gave her that was inscribed “Who needs a fairy godmother when
you have a Yiayia?”
When Bertha started to advance in her illness, she spent as much time with the family as
possible. Near the end of her life, although she wouldn’t remember day to day, she became
excited whenever she met her new great-granddaughter, Maddison.
Bertha was a loving wife, beloved mother and mother-in-law, cherished by family members and
friends. She has left us all with very happy memories and we will always cherish them.
Written by her sons and their wives: John & Cheryl, Debbie & Lou Pouletsos
Endnotes
1. "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V3YF-XZ2 : accessed 22 January 2015), BERTHA POULETSOS, 19 Mar 2007; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing)..
2. "Ancestry.com - 1920 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com - 1920 United States Federal Census. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015...
3. "Ancestry.com - 1920 United States Federal Census." Ancestry.com - 1920 United States Federal Census. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015...
4. Ancestry.com, 1920 United States Federal Census (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Year: 1920; Census Place: Hoboken Ward 1, Hudson, New Jersey; Roll: T625_1041; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 62.
5. "Page 1 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com." Page 1 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2015...
6. Family Member.
9. Witnessed or attended event or event occurred directly to the individual..
10. "United States Social Security Death Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V3YF-XZ2 : accessed 22 January 2015), BERTHA POULETSOS, 19 Mar 2007; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing)..
11. "Find A Grave Index," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/QV2N-Q6SF : accessed 22 January 2015), Bertha Pouletsos, 2007; Burial, Calverton, Suffolk, New York, United States of America, Calverton National Cemetery; citing record ID 72363846, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com..