Obituary of Garifalia Litsa Jordanopoulos

It is with great sadness that the family of Garifalia Litsa Tsolakides Jordanopoulos announces her passing on Sunday, March 7, 2021, at the age of 76. Litsa will be lovingly remembered by her husband of over 55 years, Eleftherios Mike Jordanopoulos and her children Paul (daughter-in-law Anastasia), Olga Giannakopoulos (son-in-law Peter), and Katherine Fassman (son-in-law Ken). She will also be fondly remembered by her six grandchildren Carnation, Anastasia, Joanna, Eleftheria, Michael Eleftherios, and Christos John who adored their lovable yiayia. She is predeceased by her parents Lambrini and Christos Tsolakides and her sister Katinoula. She is survived by her sisters Maria Keskes and Panagiota Xanthopoulos.

Born on December 20, 1944 in Agios Vasileios in northern Greece. Litsa truly lived the American Dream. With an incredible work ethic, she arrived in the United States as a newlywed who didn’t speak English, and together with her husband, she went on to run a very successful restaurant in downtown Fairfield, Connecticut for 26 years. It may have been called, “Mike’s Pizza”, but it was really, “Litsa’s Pizza”. Over the years, she had acquired a business savvy and developed the perfect pizza recipe.     

Residing in Fairfield for 46 years, the town held a very special place in her heart. It brought her great joy to feed all the residents and college students. Cooking was a passion for Litsa and through food, she showed her love and genuine warmth towards everyone she met. She was never shy to say “Love You” to her family and friends. In fact, that became her catchphrase. Her request before she passed was to have “Love You” written in blue carnations on her casket since that was her favorite color and her name Garifalia translates to carnation in English.

Some of her greatest pleasures included spending time with her six grandchildren. Not only did she teach them how to cook, but she taught them Greek songs from her childhood. Her generous spirit and love for everyone will forever be remembered.

A viewing will take place at 11:00 am on Friday, March 12 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut with the funeral following at 12:00 pm. Aionia i mnimi (eternal memory). Interment in St. Thomas Cemetery will be private. For friends and family who would like to watch Litsa’s service, please visit Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church’s website at holytrinitybridgeport.org. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Litsa’s memory to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church at 4070 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, CT 06604.

For travel directions, or to sign her online guest register, please visit www.LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com