It is with heavy hearts that the family of Kyriaki A.“Kiki” Kolovani share the passing of their loving wife, mother, yiayia and sister on March 23 at 78 years of age.  She was the oldest daughter of Aristodimos Vafiadis and Anthoula (Homatopoulos); and the wife of Roland C. Kolovani and the late Nikolaos S. Frangiadis.

Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, April 6, 1936, she lived through great poverty due to the war and disliked watching movies about that period of time throughout her life. She wed Nikolaos in 1962 and went on to give birth to three children, Vasilia, Dimitrios, and Anthi. With her immediate family, she emigrated to the United States in 1974 in pursuit of the American Dream—to make the lives of her children better than her own.  She worked as a seamstress and a homemaker, raising her family in Lebanon, Pennsylvania; later opening her own tailor shop.

She was widowed in 1985 while two of her children attended university and the third was in elementary school.  While many in her extended family encouraged her to return to Greece, Kiki persevered and chose to remain in the United States, fulfilling their goal to provide each of their children with a college education.

It was in her shop where she met Roland and they wed in 1988. With Roland, she traveled throughout the country and the world, enjoyed gardening and many visits to her beloved Longwood Gardens, while cooking and baking her cherished Greek recipes for all to enjoy—her kourabiedes were second to none and she introduced yialanzi to many. She struggled with many medical conditions throughout her lifetime. It was her family devotion and Orthodox faith that remained in the forefront.

Kiki is survived by her spouse Roland C. Kolovani and his family of Lebanon, Pennsylvania and Florida; her children, Vasilia “Bess” Kara and her husband Gerald of St. Jacob’s, Ontario, Dimitri N. Frangiadis and his wife Laura of Landenberg, Pennsylvania, and Anthi Frangiadis of Onset; her grandchildren Nathaniel and Lydia Kara; Alexi and Gabriel Frangiadis; and her siblings, sister Olga Ousantzopoulos and brother Elefterios Vafiadis and his wife Anneta, all of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Visiting hours will be held on Thursday March 26, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Wareham Village Funeral Home 5 Center St. Wareham. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. The funeral service is Friday, March 27 at 10 a.m. in St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Cape Cod, 1130 Falmouth Road Route 28 Centerville. Interment will follow in Centre Cemetery Wareham. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Cape Cod www.stgeorge-capecod.com or  SmileTrain, www.smiletrain.org.