Elpiniki Kaitatzis

Elpiniki Kaitatzis
1946 - 2025 (age 79)

Elpiniki Kaitatzis passed away on May 4th, 2025 in Athens, Greece. She was born on the island of Lesvos, Greece in 1946 and crossed the shores as an infant with her family for America. She grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan and as a teenager moved with her family to Palisades Park, NJ. Striving to become fiercely independent, Elpiniki, in 1972, joined a new generation of women looking to make a career in the skyscrapers of NYC. She would go on to achieve senior management roles during her tenure of 40 years with Emblem Health. Her life embodied the American Dream. Her character was reinforced by the Women’s Rights movement. She made her home with her late husband, Antonios Kaitatzis and raised their son, Christos, in Palisades Park, NJ. She loved being around family and friends and eating apple turnovers from Palisades Park bakery. Many in the Greek-American community will remember her as the person who opened her heart and offered a helping hand when they came to America in the 70s and 80’s. In her final chapter she battled with courage and dignity against Alzheimer’s for 12 years. She may have lost memories, but her heart never stopped pouring out love. Elpiniki was preceded in death by her husband Antonios, her parents Anna and Efstratios Malliakas, and her brother, Tim Malikas. 

Please join the family as they celebrate her life on Monday, May 12th 5:00-8:30pm at Blackley Funeral Home. Funeral Mass on Tuesday May 13th at 12pm at the Greek Orthodox Ascension Church in Fairview, NJ. Burial to follow at Fairview Cemetery, Fairview.

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