Dennis Pasadis
My “Thea Georgie” was a wonderful aunt, mentor and friend to us.
She drove me to high school. She got me my first job. She introduced us to the beauty of the Sonoma Valley. She sold us our land in Glen Ellen. And she delivered our daughter on the way to the hospital.
She cooked us dozens of delicious meals. She organized countless family gatherings, which helped us stay close. When I destroyed my back in the 1980s, she called regularly to see how I was doing. We had countless philosophical discussions on health, family, politics and the meaning of life. We didn’t always agree, but we got over it.
Many years after Mike died, she said something like this to me: “Even though Mike is gone, I knew I was loved and I will always carry that feeling with me. I'm so fortunate.”
She was an independent thinker. She didn’t “follow the rules” unless she agreed with them. She started her own real estate and travel businesses when she was almost fifty. She even mixed and poured concrete into her 60s.
And she, like many of her siblings, had a very strong spirit and zest for life. If Greek music played, she got up and danced, even if she was the only one. I never witnessed her feeling sorry for herself. Not once.
Maybe most importantly, she loved us for who we were, not who she wished we were. She was always there, in the background, pulling for us. She made our lives better and we will be eternally grateful for her presence on this earth.
Dennis & Maryann Pasadis