Macrides, Tasula (Anastasia), Koutropoulou, of West Roxbury, March 27, at age 94.
One of the last surviving Greeks from the1922-23 exchange of populations, born in the town of Ordu on the Black Sea, she grew up in Greece where she also survived the German occupation of WWII and the Greek Civil War before emigrating to the U.S. in 1947. Wife of the late George L. Macrides, mother of Ruth and Michael. Proud and loving grandmother of Anna Magdalino, Max and Alexander Macrides and loving aunt to many nieces and nephews. Following cremation a Memorial Service will be planned for family and friends.
In the course of her long life Tasula Macrides inhabited three continents: Asia Minor, where she was born, Europe (Greece) where she grew up, and the United States, where she made her home, spending the greater part of her life there. Tasula’s identity, her Pontic Greekness, was shaped by the dramatic events of her infancy. She was always surprised when the people she met in the United States did not know anything of these events. Born on the Black Sea coast (the Pontos) on 1 September 1919, she and her mother and four siblings were among the million Orthodox Christians forced to leave their homes in Asia Minor in 1922-23, to settle in Greece in the so-called ‘exchange of populations’. Greece was a foreign country to them. At first the family moved around Greece, finally settling in Athens and adapting to their new home mainly thanks to the resourcefulness of their mother, Juliana, a practical woman of great spirit and generosity. Tasula never knew her father John, a tailor, who died soon after she was born.
In Greece, Tasula, the youngest in the family, was sent to Xanthi, in Thrace, to school. As a consequence she did not grow up with her mother by her side. During WWII and the German occupation, the family moved to Katerini in northern Greece where food was readily available. Tasula had to walk 22 miles to reach Katerina, through snow and driving icy rain, wearing canvas-covered clogs and no hat or gloves. She often cited the frostbite she suffered from this walk as an explanation for the poor condition of her feet and hands. She summed up her life during the war in Katerini as good. ‘We were young’.
In 1947, during the Greek Civil War Tasula accepted an invitation from her mother’s brother, George Kouthouris, and his wife Ruth to visit them in the U.S. She accepted. A year later she married George Macrides. Her family and his had known each other in Asia Minor and were from the same town, Ordu. They settled in Boston, first in the city center, then in Roslindale. They had two children, Ruth and Michael.
For many years Tasula worked at Cyreld’s in Brookline, as a seamstress, becoming head of alterations. She was herself a well-dressed woman with style. She was also a perfectionist and often stayed up all night to finish a dress, not allowing herself to disappoint a customer or her daughter. She did favours for friends and acquaintances, sewing for them with little or no recompense. Her home was open to everyone. She helped many Greeks who were newly arrived in Boston. Sociable and an excellent cook, she would produce ouzo and mezedes out of a hat, it seemed, and soon a party would be underway.
Tasula spent many years driving back and forth to Hyannis, Cape Cod, where her aunt and uncle retired. When her aunt died she looked after uncle George, spending the first years of her retirement in this way. After his death she moved to Hyannis, renovating the house with its excellent view of the harbor. Grandchildren were born in those years – Anna, Max and Alex. An indulgent grandmother, she catered to their culinary whims. She could never be found sitting down. There were many gatherings and parties in that lovely house.
Throughout their married life she and George spoke of returning to Greece when they retired. Although they took many trips to visit their much-missed brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, they never returned to live there. They were Americans. But Tasula returned to the Pontos, the place of her birth, in 2006, with her daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law, the best trip she ever made, in her words.
Lawler and Crosby Funeral Home
617-323-5600