And I Said, “Why Not?”
Tony and Zoe Okos
Pictured here, with love birds in hand, Tony and Zoe Okos were married in 2017 but had known each other since their childhood days in Greece. Their lives are linked through centuries of relatives and historical figures. Zoe’s allegiance, family, children and grandchildren are in Greece while Tony’s is totally in America.
Tony’s Story
Anthony “Tony” Okos was born on March 8, 1941, in Anelion, a suburb of Zagora in Pelion, Greece. His grandfather was from around Karditsa, Greece, Thessaly and had used the Okos name as a “nom de guere” while fighting against the Turks. The Okos name may not have a specific meaning and may not be the true name although two-syllable names are common in the western part of Greece. Life for the Okos family was exceedingly difficult during the German occupation.
His parents, Ioannis and Euphrosyne, were both teachers and were allocated to the village of Anelion for ten years, then to the village of Velestino near Volos, Greece. Tony’s two sisters, Vasiliki, now 85, and Angeliki now 79, both live in Athens. In Velestino, Tony began his interest in Greek History and Tradition. He became interested in Regas Pheraios (Velistinlis) who was born in 1752 and became involved with the liberation of Greece from the Turks. Pheraios met with seven Greek comrades in Vienna, Austria, to plan the revolution against Turks. In 1793, on his way to Trieste, Italy, he was arrested and ultimately executed in Belgrade, Serbia, by the Turks. He became a national hero and the extent of his work for the liberation was enormous. This was the beginning of Tony’s interest in Greece’s history which continues to this day.
Pictured left to right (scroll for more): Euphrosyne and her mother, Angeliki, 1918, Euphrosyne, circa 1928, Manolis, Euphrosyne Yannis, 1940s, (Standing) Friend, Vasiliki, Grandmother, Angeliki, Yannis, (sitting) Stergios,(maternal grandfather of Tony, Tony, Angeliki, 1952, Tony’s parents, Yannis and Euphrosyne, 1947, Euphrosyne, Tony and Yannis, 1953
Velestino
Velestino is an old settlement with history going back 3 to 4,000 years. Tony remembers a huge unsecured area next to his school where wheat was piled and threshed. After the October rains, white mushrooms grew from the remains. His mother would collect the mushrooms which sustained the family and other villagers. Around 1947 the Greek Army prepared the area for a stadium for children. However, the bulldozers unearthed broken vessels and discovered graves and relics that went back 2-3,000 years
With no high school in the village, Tony attended the Second Gymnasium of Volos. At age 14, he attended a British school and slowly learned English. This was uncommon at the time as French was the dominant second language. When he was 16, he observed some activity in a classroom and learned that they were selecting students to go to the United States under the American Field Service (AFS), the non-profit organization that provides intercultural learning opportunities to create a more just and peaceful world. After some testing and preparation, he was considered a viable candidate for the program. When offered the opportunity to go to the United States, he said, “Why not?” His parents did not learn of his decision until the next day, when the local newspaper listed the names of those selected. His parents approved, and in the summer of 1958 his family waved goodbye at the bus station in Zagora.
Tony in Vancouver, British Columbia, 1982
On August 6, Tony was left in Athens to meet the plane to New York, but technical problems delayed his trip for 10 days. In New York he boarded a Greyhound bus destined for Champaign/Urbana, Illinois. He had no perception of the country but was excited about his new opportunity. The food was not strange to him. As a growing youngster, “I could eat anything.” All he could see from the bus were miles and miles of wheat fields and he was dropped off with no station near Effingham, Illinois. It was just Tony and his suitcase until his host family, the Schraders, rescued him. He shared the time with their children Alice, Helen and Timothy, the latter being his companion. He recalls a beautiful town but one with very cold winters where trees were destroyed from heavy ice accumulation.
Return to Greece
Tony at the Parthenon, 1986
Upon his return to Greece, Tony was accepted at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens with its prestigious School of Medicine. After graduation in 1966, he would have to begin his two-year Army obligation. However, his time was cut to one year as his father had died from what would have been a very simple condition, inflammation of the gall bladder. He was sent to the island of Chios during difficult times for his family and during the political turmoil in Greece. He then spent one year in Gardikion Omelaion, in the Tymphestosmountains caring for a population of peasants and shepherds. He would travel by foot for up to three hours among eight villages to encourage proper health care and vaccination for the residents. He relished the time as a young man with no fear, often fording rivers with his pants off and carrying belongings on his head.
Medicine
Tony returned to Athens and the Evangelismos General Hospital focusing on internal medicine. In 1969 he was fortunate to receive financial assistance for a position at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, England, where he shared time with quite a few American doctors. While dining with Max Cooper from Birmingham, Alabama, in 1976, Cooper extended an invitation for Tony to come to Birmingham and again, Tony said, “Why not?” For the next three years he worked in experimental hematology with eminent physicians. Tony had been communicating with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research program (“the Hutch”) in Seattle, Washington, and in 1980, he moved to Seattle where he worked under Nobel prize winning Professor Donald Thomas. There he gained experience with bone marrow transplants while rotating between the University of Washington and The Hutch for three years. He also spent some time at Seattle’s Virginia Mason Hospital. Then he spent the next 27 years at the Fircrest School, under Washingtons Department of Social and Health Services, providing general medicine for the developmentally disabled residents until he retired in October of 2022.
Pictured Left to Right: Tony with Senator Paul Tsongas, Tony at AHEPA convention, 1987, Beginning private practice, 1989, Vasiliki, Euphrosyne, Angeliki, Alexander and John, children of Tony’s sister Angeliki Nixon) circa 1980, Tony and Plato, Christmas, 2003
In addition to his medical profession, Tony kept an interest in politics and was active with AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational and Progressive Association). He served as president of the Juan de Fuca Chapter #177 for 2000 and 2001.
In 1987 Tony married Annice Thompson (nee Buckner). Among Annice’s ancestors is Partick Henry, the famous hero of the American Revolution who said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Annice is the sixth great, great granddaughter of this man. Tony and Annice lived together for 28 years and have no children.
Zoe’s Story
Zoe Ringa was born in Athens, Greece, in November of 1947. Her father, Constantine, was born in 1913 in the United States as his father, Apostolos, had emigrated to New York City in 1893.
After quite a few years of struggle,( at 16 years old he left Mt Pelion to find work in Egypt and two years later he reached New York struggling continuously for some years)Apostolos met Demetrios Polymeris ,a compatriot from Pelion , 10 years older than him . They bought a coffee shop in central NY named the Columbus Café. Luck helps the warriors in life ,the City of NY in order to build the Central Station offered all small businesses there compensation, and made them leave . With these funds they bought a hotel , named it ATHINAI which became the best Greek Hotel in town ,with excellent food and fine service ,on 30E.42nd Street. They employed many Greeks and from their birthplace .Money came , Apostolos and Dimitrios thrived both financially and socially. Zoe' s grandfather became member and president of the Greeks in New York , as she found out meeting in 1974 in Crete a Greek American who remembered her grandfather ! Demetrios Polymeris never married and became a big benefactor to his birthplace in Greece , in Pelion ,up to now.
Pictured Left to Right (scroll): Zoe’s grandfather Apostolos, his wife Aoe and their first child, Helen visiting the parents of Zoe and her older sister in Zagora, Pelion. early 1900s, Paternal grandfather Apostolos Ringa in New York with his wife Zoe, 1905, Hotel ATHINAI at 30 E. 42nd St. in New York City, Grandmother, Zoe A. Ringa 1965
Apostolos returned to Pelion to marry a Greek wife. He was introduced to the two daughters of the Apostolou family, one 18-years- old and the other 16. While tradition requires the older daughter to marry first, Apostolos was smitten with the younger, Zoe who was among the beautiful and well-educated women from the area of Pelion. Her father was absent and could not give consent. However, Apostolos insisted and said, “I am leaving tomorrow, and you will be away from your family for many years.” Zoe replied, “I will go to the North Pole with you.” They married in Zagora, Pelion, and left for New York. They had three children, Helen in 1905, Madeleine in 1910 and Zoe’s father, Constantine in 1913.
Apostolos Ringas house in Zagora, Mt Pelion, which still exists
Around 1920, the Italian mafia was making life miserable for New York businesses. Apostolos decided to sell everything and move back to Greece with his family. There he purchased three houses and started a passenger shipping business of his own.
Later in 1929,he joined Aktoploia tis Ellados (AKTEL)which was formed by the biggest 6 steamship passenger companies where Apostolos Ringas , Zoe’s grandfather , was the one of the two vice presidents. In between the two World Wars AKTEL was doing all transport of people and goods between Greek ports.
In 1939 ,Hellenic Mediterranean Lines S. A..was created by those same ship owners and their fleet of more than 30 passenger ships sailed between all Mediterranean Ports .
Unfortunately nearly all Greek ships helping immensely Second World War efforts ,sunk . HML restarted the effort after the end of the War nearly from scratch as did some other Greek passenger shipping compagnies .
Cleopatra and her father, Spyridon K. Tricoupis
The biggest achievement of this company came later ,in 1960,when it acquired the first on a world scale passenger ferry boat ,named EGNATIA This boat improved immensely tourism and the whole development of Greece, together with APPIA the Italian ferry boat, Egnatia was a ferry boat ordered by the Greek Government a worldwide novelty at the time for transport of cars, buses and lories which was joined in 1961 by the Italian Government owned Adriatica di Navigazione (ship named APPIA ).These precursor ships created a flow of tourists to Greece worked as a pool for many years on the line Greece /Italy( Brindisi - Corfu- Igoumenitsa - Patras and vice versa , transporting clientele in cars ,busses and cargo in lories. Zoe s father , Constantine as CEO of HML managed to create for years an excellent collaboration with European Trains then Zoe herself and Cleopatra her daughter worked in the same task.
Cleopatra and Constantine wedding in Athens, Greece, 1946
Constantine and Cleopatra (nee Tricoupis) were married in 1946. Her mother’s grandfather was Charilaos Tricoupis, first cousin who served several times as prime minister of Greece. Tricoupis’ statue, along with fellow statesman Eleftherios Venizelos, stands right and left of the Greek Parliament on Syntagma Square in Athens Greece .
Cleopatra’s mother was a descendant of the hero of Greek independence, and several times Prime Minister of Greece Constantine Canaris.
Their daughter, Zoe, was born in 1947 and her sister, Despina, in 1950. Constantine and Cleopatra urged their daughters to practice humility, with the understanding that a noble background is a responsibility, but they are no different from or better than others.
Pictured Left to Right (scroll): Zoe, Constantine, Cleopatra and sister Despina Michalitsianou, 2000, Zoe’s four grandchildren in Athens, 2022, University of Piraeus where Zoe was a teaching assistant from 1978-2000
Athens
Zoe had a very happy childhood in Athens where she was born. With the support of her loving parents, she added studies in Sociology to the French University Nanterre in Paris for 4 years (immediately after regular school ). She holds a Maitrise degree in Sociology.
Coming back to Greece in 1969 she worked in the private sector in APCO a new and big plastics industry in the 70's,created by Greek American Charles Politis . She worked in Social Service of this company as she did not like the way the junta government then in Greece intervened in Social Studies.
Later on ,in 1978 as a mother of two, until 2000 ( retirement)she worked in the University of Piraeus in Greece as an assistant to the Professor of Social Administration Marios Raphael. Zoe combined work as a Sociologist , as member of the Board in the shipping family business ( HML) ,voluntary work on international level with YWCA and Family.
Zoe and Tony in Buchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia, 2015
She has two children from her first marriage, Cleopatra Soutsou, and Dorothy Soutsou, and four grandchildren all living in Athens. Zoe divorced the father of her children and was married for the next 30 years to Dr. Anargyros Georgakakis , Assistant Professor in Medical School Athens .The marriage ended abruptly with his sudden death in 2013.
At the same time, she was working with Hellenic Mediterranean Lines representing it in European Railway meetings. HML was transporting Eurail, Inter Rail and Eurodomino Railway clients to Greece and back to Italy. The sea passage, Italy/Greece and vice versa to Greece was included in the price of the card as was travel on Italian and Greek trains. It was a yearlong business with more work in the summers with tourism and quieter times in the winter. It was exceptional for a family passenger shipping business to last as most do not survive a third generation. She continued her work with the company until its closing in 2005.
Their Life Together
Tony and Zoe share a mutual love on a personal basis .Having both roots in Mt Pelion adds to this happiness. Both benefited from previous happy marriages that ended , hers by death and his by divorce. They had been friends since she was 18 years old.
To Zoe, Tony is charming, intelligent and a person who adapt to sometimes, complex family situations as hers. She feels very lucky to be his wife as few " good " men exist , especially for a widow with children and grandchildren.
Tony and Zoe with sunset
In 2015, Zoe was invited to a gathering in Athens of residents from Zagora.A nice lady next to her said “I am Vasiliki Okos” and Zoe asked, “How is Tony?” Vasiliki quickly called her brother, but Zoe closed the phone saying, “I don’t talk to married men.” Upon learning he was a single and knowing he was a famous, nice-looking man a friend said, “Take a plane!” and she did, arriving in Seattle in February and they shared Valentine’s Day together. Her children were a little shocked, discovering their mother was having a relationship. While some think marriage for older people is awkward, they have had nine years of a happy marriage, up to now and hope for many more happy years to come.
Final Thoughts
Tony and Zoe feel lucky to be the product of parents they both love and respect. They share the love of earth and nature which is common in Pelion. Tony has only good memories of his time in America and would “do it all over again.” He hopes to be remembered not only for his medical profession, but as a Greek scholar almost obsessed with history from ancient times of Ulysses and Homer to the present. Zoe wishes only to be remembered by her family and that she was blessed and did a few good works.
They are committed to keeping the history of Greece alive even if only a small percentage of the past is recalled. They are pleased to see a revival of traditional music and dance in Greece. Tony observes more interest in the United States among scholars and universities about Greek writings and history, even more than older European countries. In that vein, he is also one of five people that began the Hellenic Studies program at the University of Washington.
Zoe loves paroimies( proverbs) and here are two . “káti kalýtero boreí na eínai káti cheiróteroto” (Enemy of the good is the better). And: “aftoi pou den zymonoun 10 meres coskinizoun” ( he who dies not to knead the bread, sifts all day, procrastinates).
Tony has some favorites too. One is, “Style largely depends on how the chin is worn.” (how one’s facial expression changes) Another is “Human decency is not derived from religion, it precedes it.” Finally, (odynen oros ke eteken mon) The mountain was suffering but produced a little mouse, (much ado about nothing)
By John Nicon, June 2024.
SOURCES
Video interview on June 19, 2023