Sophia Paulatos Kambitsis

Sophia Paulatos Kambitsis, 80, fell asleep in the arms of the Lord on Friday, February 7, 2020.

She was born in Charleston, South Carolina on April 3, 1939, the daughter of the late Pete & Lucille (Sirmas) Paulatos. She grew up with her parents and two sisters, Rosa and Marika, at 120 Meeting Street, living upstairs over the family's stores, the L&P Grocery and the OK BBQ & Liquor Store. She and her sisters enjoyed life in downtown Charleston, taking in movie matinees at the Riviera and American theaters, getting around to church or school by foot, bus, or bike, hosting cousins, aunts and uncles who visited Charleston, and working in her parents' store. To this day her name, and the names of her sisters, parents, and extended family are still present in the mortar of a cobblestone wall behind their old Meeting Street home.

Sophia was a graduate of the Charleston High School and a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. She spent most of her working career as a bookkeeper, and she owned and operated a lunch counter and pastry store on King Street named "Sophia's" for several years during in the 1980's, specializing in Greek desserts and old Charleston confectionaries like pralines and benne wafers. Sophia's passion in life was her cooking and baking, and she enjoyed little more than creating a meal and sharing it with others. It was not uncommon of her to bake a meal for herself and make a second one at the same time to pass along to a loved one. Her Greek desserts, like her koulourakia butter cookies, kourambides, and especially her baklava, were legendary. People who knew her always lit up when they heard she was baking, especially around the holidays, when she would dedicate a week every December to doing nothing but baking and assembling trays and gift boxes of her desserts to share with her friends and family. She was proud of her Greek heritage and culture, and happy to share it with all. She was active in her church, for many years baking the Prosphoro (holy bread) used for Sunday services and Koliva used for memorial services. She served as a youth advisor and helped to fundraise for a year to send the Church's older youth group to summer camp at the Ionian Village, a daunting but successful task. She loved visiting Greece and was able to do so several times, especially enjoying her visits to her father's home of Cephalonia, Greece.

Sophia was a dedicated and devoted mother to her two sons, sacrificing of herself and working two or three jobs to provide for them as their sole provider. For many years she'd come home from work, prepare supper for her and her sons, and then do side bookkeeping at the kitchen table into the late evening hours. She was determined to provide a safe, warm, loving home to her boys and worked tirelessly to do so.

She is survived by one sister, Rosa Paulatos, two sons, Charles Paulatos and Pete Paulatos (Summer), two granddaughters, Sophia and Lia, and a niece, three nephews, several grand nieces and nephews, and many cousins. She is predeceased by her husband, Dennis Kambitsis, and her younger sister, Marika Paulatos Papadopoulos.

The family will receive friends Tuesday, February 11, 2020 in J. Henry Stuhr Inc., West Ashley Chapel, 3360 Glenn McConnell Parkway from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. where a Trisagion service will be held at 6:00 p.m. Her Funeral Service will be held Wednesday, February 12, 2020 in Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, 30 Race Street at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in Live Oak Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity (Building Fund), 30 Race Street, Charleston, SC 29403.

May her memory be eternal.