Cholakis, Despina “Dassie”

NORTH GREENBUSH

— Despina Michaelides Cholakis passed peacefully from this life, in the comfort of her home, and in the presence of her devoted family, on Monday, December 26, 2022, at the age of 90.

She was born on November 9, 1932, into the loving family of George and Panayota (Ermides) Michaelides. While her given name was Despina, she came to be known as “Dassie,” the name given to her by the public school. Dassie grew up in Albany, the middle child of three, and with her siblings, Mary (Areti) and John, was educated in the Albany Public School system and graduated from Albany High School. Following her graduation, Dassie took employment with the New York State Education Department in Albany. On June 16, 1957, she married her high school sweetheart, Constantine George Cholakis, and in 1961 moved to North Greenbush. Dassie dedicated the majority of her life to the care of her family and their home. Proud of her Greek heritage and devout in her Orthodox Christian faith, Dassie was a parishioner and supporter of both St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church in Troy and St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Albany. She treasured time spent with family and friends and served as a surrogate mother and grandmother to many people beyond her immediate family. Once she loved you, she always loved you. That love is the legacy she leaves behind for those who knew her.

It was a special gift to have her light shine upon you. Dassie was the loving wife of the late Constantine George Cholakis with whom she shared 39 years of marriage at the time of his passing in 1996, at the age of 66. Dassie experienced profound heartbreak at the loss of her eldest child, George Dean Cholakis, in 2017, at the age of 58. She also was preceded in death by her siblings, Mary (late husband Constantine) Koutsakis, and John (late wife Anne Bailey) Michaelides; brother-in-law, Thomas G. Cholakis and his wife Katherine Buas Cholakis; and sister-in-law, Helen Pappas Cholakis, whose husband Nicholas G. Cholakis of Latham survives. She is survived by her daughter, Catherine (Richard Kemner) Cholakis of Brunswick; her son, Gregory Dean Cholakis of Troy; her daughters-in-law, Linda Cooper of Miami, Fla., and Joanne Monagan of Troy; her grandchildren, Anastasia Grace Cholakis, Olivia, and Caileigh Dean, as well as numerous loving cousins, nieces and nephews.

A private funeral service was held in St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church in Albany where the pastor, Reverend Father Patric Legato, and Reverend Father Emmanuel Mantzouris, pastor of St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church

followed in Graceland Cemetery.

To those who wish to remember Dassie in a special way, a donation may be made to St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church, 909 River St., Troy, NY, 12180, St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, 440 Whitehall Road, Albany, NY, 12208, or The Community Hospice Foundation, 310 S. Manning Bvld., Albany, NY, 12208.

Please visit www.parkerbrosmemorial.com to leave a message of condolence for the Cholakis family.