Anastasia Vergos' Obituary
Anastasia Vergos died Thursday, February 16, at the age of 96 following a relatively brief illness.
Tasia’ s life was incredible. Born the eldest child to Nick and Lambrini Anagnos on May 11, 1926, in Kato Hora, Greece, a small mountainous village with no running water or electricity. Her family grew their own food, raised and killed their own chickens, milked goats every morning and gathered water from the nearby vrisi – a cool fresh water fountain in the village. An illness would mean a treacherous day-long trip down the mountain on a donkey to the closest town of Nafpactos.
She lived through the German occupation of Greece high in these mountains. But when World War II ended, she and her family were in danger from the Greek guerillas on the cusp of the Greek Civil War. She would tell a story about being awakened one night by a scratching at the door. Her mother gathered the children together and said this was it – the Guerillas had finally found them. They were crying and terrified only to realize a few moments later that it was a cat. This was the fear they lived in until they were able to make their escape to the coast to board a ship to America. She was 20 at the time.
With dowry in tow and not speaking any English, she and her family made their way to Memphis where her father had come to work at Jim’s Place Restaurant. It was arranged that she would marry Charlie Vergos. A marriage that lasted over 60 years.
Just two years after their marriage, Charlie started the Rendezvous, and they had their first son, John. Because Charlie worked seven days a week to get the fledgling restaurant off the ground, she took care of everything at home. Still not speaking any English she immersed herself in the growing Greek Community and Greek Orthodox Church in Memphis. Two more children soon followed - Nick and Tina.
Because of this background, she was tough as nails, generous in spirit and kind to everyone, but, most of all, she was joyful. She celebrated everything - and celebrated everything with food. While Charlie fed the masses at The Rendezvous, she was likewise feeding the masses at the Greek Festival every year and feeding her close family and friends for every other occasion. Her spanakopeta was legendary. Her faki and avgolemono soup could heal. And, Christmas wasn't Christmas without her tiropetakia.
She loved to Greek dance, travel, watch the Tigers and the Grizzlies, and, most of all, to fill her house with people and food.
She may have been small and spoke with a thick accent, but people stopped to listen when she talked. She had presence. She drew folks in and made everyone feel like family. You couldn’t meet her and not love her.
Vergos is survived by her son, John (Ellen) Vergos; her daughter, Tina (Al) Jennings; her grandchildren, Anna (Angus) Blair, Katherine (Danny) Riederer, Charlie Vergos, Kristina Jennings, Nicholas Vergos, Lee Jennings, Reed Vergos and Cecile Vergos; and her great-grandchildren, Matilda Blair, Mac Blair, Will Riederer and Lucy Riederer.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Vergos; her son, Nick Vergos; her parents, Lambrini and Nick Anagnos; and her siblings, George Anagnos, Fotou Tarabicos, and Voula Carayiannis.
Visitation is Monday, Feb. 20, in the fellowship hall of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 573 N. Highland St., at 11 a.m. and the funeral is in the sanctuary at 12:15 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the church.
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