Evridiki "Vicky" (Karageorgos) Metakos

Evridiki  “Vicky” (Karageorgos) Metakos, 87, of Westerly, crashed through the gates of heaven on February 16, 2025; 3 years after the Dr.’s gave her 6 months to live.  She was an extraordinary woman deserving of an extraordinary tribute; read on or skip to the bottom for the arrangements.   

Born in the village of Kalloni in Grevena, Greece, she grew to be an intelligent, articulate, well-read woman and became a schoolteacher.  She worked for King Constantine of Greece at the prestigious Basiliki Pronoia at the Spiti Tou Paidiou school in the village of Omali, away from her home of Kozani, Greece.  

Following the death of her father in 1963, she became the head of the household at the age of 25 and for years, sent most of her earnings back to her mother in Kozani to support her siblings. 

An intelligent, unmarried 28-year-old professional woman in Greece in 1966 was regarded with the same disdain as nuclear radiation… unwanted and untouchable.    As there were no marital prospects in the whole of Greece, and Yiayia Maria was desperate to marry her off before she turned, gasp, 30, Yiayia reached out to her daughter Thomai for help.  Thomai had already married the love of her life and started a family in the State of Rhode Island.   

One sunny day in 1966, a Greek, Clark Gable look alike from Kalloni, Grevena, aka the late Christoforos Metakos, walked into the Continental Diner, on Broad Street in Providence, conveniently owned by Theo Thanasi and Thista Thomai.  They struck up a conversation and learned they were all from the same village!  Of all the gin joints in all the world, he chose that diner to have lunch in… talk about divine intervention!  Bonded by their common Greek heritage, down to the tiny village they were all born in, Thitsa boldly asked “Are you married?” “No, I can’t find a good Greek woman” replied Clark Gableopoulos.  Thitsa said, have I got a woman for you and showed him the hottest photo ever taken of Evridiki.   Like Pepe Le Pew, he took one look at the Goddess in front of him and fell in love at first sight!  “I’ll take her!” he said with a grin on his handsome face… and so began their love story.   

She legally immigrated to the USA and they married within months of meeting each other.  Their beautiful daughter was born 9 months to the day of their marriage, the prodigal son arrived 3 years later, and they lived, mostly, happily ever after, until Christoforos died of a stroke in 2010.  

They managed to work side by side for 42 years without killing each other or getting divorced; a testament to her loyalty and dedication to him and the family they built together.  The only thing they had in common was the love they had for their family.  While he loved fishing, she found joy in hard work, dedicating herself to her family and businesses.    

Vicky was a force to be reckoned with.  A shrewd, successful businesswoman, she started and ran several successful businesses with her late husband.  The last was Charlestown Famous Pizza, which she started from nothing and, by sheer hard work and determination, turned into a gold mine by leading with an iron fist, and a soft heart, for nearly 25 years before retiring in 2009.    She won BEST PIZZA in RI by Rhode Island Monthly and didn’t know it until dozens of new customers showed up with a copy of the magazine in hand on a Friday night in August 1996! 

She feared no one and nothing on earth; not even the police officer who pulled her over for speeding down the street on the way to the pizza place.  She yelled at him!  Telling him that she was late for work, and he was wasting her time; she had a restaurant to open. He asked her for her license and registration, and she said she didn’t have one and told him to stop making her late for work.  He told her to get out of the car and made her walk the rest of the way (less than 1000 feet). 

She detested laziness, cowardice and failure and revered people determined to work hard and persevere through the obstacles they encountered along their journey; just as she had.  

Mom was a contradiction, down to the period at the end of the definition. 

Verbal compassion for people going through difficulties in life was NOT her strong suit.  But she would, and did, give you the shirt off her back when you needed it.   

Customer Service took on a whole new meaning on January 1, 1999, after she threw out her first customer of the new year, who dared to question the deliciousness of her homemade meatballs.   “Sir, I’ve been in business 25 years without you!  I’ll be here 25 more! GET OUT!”   

But she would secretly go cook, and serve food, at the Charlestown Senior Center, several times a year.  We didn’t find out until a customer told us many years later.  

She was a dignified, elegant woman, until she sprayed Raid in her hair by mistake one morning.  To be fair, she didn’t turn the light on in the bathroom because she didn’t want to wake her sleeping prince charming and she grabbed the Raid instead of the Aquanet, because everyone keeps them side by side in the bathroom cupboard. 

Her favorite scent was Clorox bleach and there wasn’t a black shirt in our household that didn’t have a streak of bleach across the middle because she cleaned every surface with it, and we all leaned over to wash our hands or brush our teeth. Covid didn’t stand a chance in that house.  She also loved Oceana Roses and loved having fresh flowers in the house.  The competing scents often nauseated us. 

She loved God and knew every service, hymn and prayer by heart and when she could no longer attend services she watched them online.  But she also enjoyed the CHA CHING of the slot machines at the casino. 

A lifelong Democrat, she voted for Dukakis because he was Greek and was horrified that her husband took a nap and her son played golf instead of voting.  Her daughter voted for Bush and she scolded everyone for years over this.  Later she voted for Hillary Clinton because she felt bad that Bill embarrassed her.   

She finally had an epiphany last year and voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election because “He was a good man that loved America and Kamala was ζουρλη για δεσμω” her exact words. Loosely translated “Kamala was NUTS”. 

She is predeceased by her parents Maria and Christos Karageorgos, her husband Christoforos, who had 15 good years of uninterrupted fishing in heaven, her beloved in-laws Dionysius and Panayiota Metakos, her BFF, and older sister Thomai, her favorite drinking partner and brother-in-law Thanasi Petropoulos, her cherished brother-in-law Alex Titelis, her wonderful sister-in-law Helen (Metakos) Karafelas and her husband Jimmy. 

She leaves behind a slew of broken hearts including her daughter Despina Metakos and her husband Cody Harris, her favorite child Christos Metakos, her favorite baby sister Haido Titelis, cherished brother and singing partner Fotios Karageorgos and his beautiful wife Pam, adored sister-in-law Athanasia (Soula) Floros and her husband Kosta of Lefkopigi, Greece, beloved brother-in-law Kosta Metakos and his wife Evangelia, of Kozani, Greece and many treasured cousins, nieces and nephews, in the United States and Greece, whom she loved with all her heart and who adored her, and all her sharp edges. 

 She also leaves behind her constant companions and protectors, Daphne and Buddy, who took turns sleeping at her bedside, or across her threshold, so she wouldn’t try to get up in the middle of the night and get hurt. 

There will be no peace in heaven – she’ll have everyone working on one project or another as soon as she settles in!  

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service on FRIDAY, February 21st, 2025 at the Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation, 175 Oaklawn Ave., Cranston, RI.  Visitation will begin at 9:30 and the Service will begin at 10:00 Am.   Burial will be private. Memorial donations in Vicky’s name made to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation would be greatly appreciated. Kindly omit flowers. Please share memories and condolences at www.WoodlawnFHRI.com 

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