Panagiota "Pat" Pappas

Panagiota Pappas Born: February 14, 1935 Died: January 21, 2021 Panagiota (Pat) Pappas, 86, peacefully passed away on Thursday, January 21, 2021. She was born on February 14, 1935 in Nafpaktos, Greece. With the help of her brother Tom (Irene) Tsiftilis, Panagiota came to the United States December 2, 1970 alongside her beloved Husband Frank, and her four sons. She first worked for her brother at the A&W Drive-In on South 4th Street in DeKalb. In June 1980, she began working with her sons at Tom and Jerry's restaurant serving the best homemade Italian Beef to DeKalb County residents and NIU students. Panagiota was the backbone of the family restaurant till her retirement in the late 1990's. As they say, the rest is history. Pat was a faithful member of St. George Orthodox Church in DeKalb. Panagiota is survived by her three loving sons, John (Kostia) Pappas, Nick (Dina) Pappas, and Sam Pappas; daughter-inlaw, Jeanie Pappas; nine grandkids, six great-grandkids, and a seventh great-grandchild on the way. She is also survived by her siblings Tom (Irene) Tsiftilis, Pete Tsiftilis, George (Koula) Tsiftilis, Dina Loukopoulos, and Akrivi (Nick) Iatrides, as well as several nieces and nephews. She is preceded by her beloved Husband Frank Pappas; her parents, Nick and Paula Tsiftilis; her son, Kosta Pappas; a brother, Chris Tsiftilis; sister-in-law, Sophia Tsiftilis; and brother-in-law Spiros Loukopoulos. The funeral service will be held at 11:00am on Wednesday, January 27th at St. George Greek Orthodox Church in DeKalb with Father Dustin officiating. She will be laid to rest at Fairview Cemetery in DeKalb. Regretfully, the funeral will be for immediate family only. The funeral service will be conducted strictly in accordance with the COVID-19 protocols. In lieu of flowers & luncheon, the family will be donating to the DeKalb County Food Pantry and Meals on Wheels in memory of Panagiota (Pat) Pappas. The family would like to sincerely thank the staff at the DeKalb County Nursing Home for their outstanding care of their Mother, as well as TransVac and DaVita Dialysis for the exceptional care they provided her the past 15 years. The Pappas family will forever be grateful for their services. Arrangements were entrusted to Finch Funeral Home at 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL, 60115, (815) 758-3841.