Rose Georgas

Our Beloved Mother Rose Georgas (Rosie) passed away peacefully, with her children by her side on February 2, 2020.   Rosie was born in Levidi, Greece on April 18, 1936 to Constantine and Vasliki Karelas.  She married Alex Georgas in 1965 in Levidi, Greece and immigrated to the United States that same year. Rosie embraced the American dream and was proud, quickly becoming a citizen.  She was preceded in death in 1981 by her husband Alex Georgas when he died suddenly from a work accident.  Rosie remained strong because she knew she had to be there for her children, Vassie and James.  Education was important to both Alex and Rosie and she worked hard to help support her children financially through graduation at the University of Utah.  She instilled in her children the value of having faith, perseverance, integrity, and always doing the right thing.  

Rosie worked at Pykettes as many of her Greek friends did.  These friends would become family and a support group for the rest of her life.  In 1987 Rosie took a chance and started her own day care business and almost 30 years later, retired in 2016.  Rosie was an influence and guardian to hundreds of children and many of these children would continue to visit her as they became adults.  Rosie loved life, was quick-witted and always had a smile on her face.  She would do anything for a friend or family member in need.  Rosie was a devout member of the Greek Orthodox Church of Salt Lake City.  She took pride in volunteering for church events and enjoyed working at the Greek Festival for over 40 years. She was proudly involved with the both the Holy Trinity and Prophet Elias Philoptohos Society, Pan-Arcadian Society, Arcadian Ladies Society, Athanasios Diakos, Daughters of Penelope, AHEPA,  and the Hellenic Cultural Center. 

The Greek community knew they could always call on Rosie to make her famous Yalaktobouriko or other sweets for charity events.  Cooking and entertaining were passions of Rosie’s.  Every Christmas Eve, Rosie would host a party for dozens of people and when the party was over (often at 3:00 in the morning), the house would be clean and in perfect shape before she went to bed.   The work ethic, pride, integrity, love, and compassion that Rosie had is a testament to people of her generation. Among Rosie’s many hobbies were gardening (she had dozens of rose bushes at her home), needle point,  going to Las Vegas for New Years, Wendover and being the first one to lead people in Greek dance.  Rosie took her children to Greece because she wanted them to know their Greek family, heritage and history. She taught her children Greek and often joked that she didn’t speak English because her priority was to teach her children Greek.  She would visit California regularly to see her children and took pride in seeing their accomplishments. She will be missed by her family and friends who will find strength in the memories, love and laughter shared. We would like to thank Kathy (Diamant) and Jeff Thorpe for their love and support and for being a constant in our mom’s life.  

She is survived by her 2 children Vassie and James, their spouses Debra and Brian and grandson Jack.  She was preceded in death by her beloved brother Vasilios Karelas.   

A viewing/celebration will be held on February 9, 2020  at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84106, with a Trisagion (prayer service) starting 6:00 pm. After the Trisagion, we will be serving some light appetizers and wine as Rosie would have wanted.  Funeral services will be held on Monday, February 10, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 279 South 300 West, Salt Lake City with a luncheon to follow as a celebration of her life.  Interment Mount Olivet Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Alzheimer’s Association at ALZ.ORG. 

MAY HER MEMORY BE ETERNAL.