Danae Leondopulos, age 84 years, of Princeton, NJ, passed away peacefully on Friday, November 5, 2021 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center, Plainsboro, NJ.
Remembered for her vivacious personality, bold humor and candor, Danae always made a lasting impression on those who met her. She will be missed by all, especially those who are old enough to recall the gatherings she hosted while in Princeton, New Jersey.
Born in Alexandreia or “Al-Iskandariya” Egypt to Nicolas and Georgia Sfakianou, she lost here father Nicolas very early in childhood and was raised by her mother and her three older brothers Anthony, Emilios and Keimon in the neighborhood of Ibrahimia. In particular, “jet-setter” entrepreneur Anthony and his wife Argyro took a special interest in Danae, her education, employment and social life.
During the economic restrictions and forced expulsions of the Nasser regime in 1957, Danae and Georgia moved to Athens, Greece where Anthony provided an apartment for them on Patesion Avenue near Victoria Square. However, the family was soon met by adversity when Keimon became severely ill, eventually succumbing to his illness while Anthony’s business became insolvent, and the attempt to recover an inheritance from Constantinople was unsuccessful.
Amidst these sorrows, there came a promise of hope with a chance encounter in Athens. Stelios, a mechanical engineer, originally from Constantinople and working for the Mobil Oil Corporation in Manhattan, New York, was visiting his sisters and Danae’s cousin George in Athens. Stelios immediately became enamored with Danae and they exchanged telephone numbers, dated briefly, and began writing to each other, meeting whenever possible during holidays.
Danae and Stelios were married in 1968 in the cathedral of St. Dionysios the Aeropagite in Kolonaki, Athens, and then moved to Manhattan where they lived for two years. In 1970, they moved to Princeton, New Jersey after Mobil closed the Manhattan headquarters and procured a campus in nearby Pennington, New Jersey. Soon, Danae’s mother Georgia joined them in Princeton as well.
Danae had difficulty bringing her pregnancies to full term, despite seeking medical help. However, in 1971 she finally gave birth to her son Stathis upon whom she focused all her affection. She made every effort to recreate the social environment of here own childhood; complete with all kinds of extracurricular activities for the boy, including athletics, music and foreign languages.
In 1982, Stelios opted for an early retirement and subsequently moved the family to Athens, Greece in 1983 where they settled in the province of Kifissia. There they enjoyed the good weather and the company of relatives and old friends. Danae became involved with the Association of Greeks from Egypt and Stelios became absorbed in the study of ancient Greek texts and Byzantine music. Unfortunately, a minor hearing problem that was troubling Stelios for years prior, suddenly became so acute that he could no longer appreciate music, and communication through speech became difficult.
During this time, Stathis kept his parents on watch, being easily distracted by the seductive charms of the city of Athens. However, he seemed to turn a corner as he grew older, and eventually moved back to New Jersey in 1993 to pursue studies in Engineering.
As Stathis became more absorbed with his work and studies, Danae began to miss him, and so convinced Stelios that they should move back to Princeton in 2001 to be close to their son.
By the end of the decade, Stelios’ health began to decline, and Danae devoted herself to his well-being for years until he succumbed to a respiratory infection in 2013. Danae also began to contend with her own health problems, but was able to keep them under control until 2020 when she required daily monitoring and care.
Danae’s message to her son was to never let opportunities pass without engaging them. Naturally, the most defining moments of his life were when he heeded her advice; ignoring that advice inevitably led to regret. Stathis will remain grateful for Danae’s warmth, compassion and sound advice, and looks forward to better days, applying her counsel more faithfully.
A Funeral Liturgy, concelebrated by Fr. James Pavlow & Fr. Anastasios Kousoulas, will take place on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1200 Klockner Road, Hamilton, NJ and to which all are welcome. Everyone is kindly asked to begin to arrive at the church beginning at 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday.
Realizing that some may be unable to attend due to the pandemic, the funeral and burial on Wednesday will be live-streamed, with the stream being active starting at 10:45 a.m. To watch, please click HERE and kindly ensure you do not have a pop-up blocker enabled. (If you are having issues with clicking above, please follow this link: https://vimeo.com/event/1472668/7f938d572c).
Following the service, everyone is invited to accompany the family to Greenwood Cemetery, 1800 Hamilton Avenue, Hamilton, NJ, where Danae will be laid to rest.
Complete arrangements are under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.
You are encouraged to visit Danae’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of her life.
Memorial contributions in her honor may be made to the Trenton Soup Kitchen, 72 Escher Street, Trenton, NJ 08609 or online by clicking HERE.
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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”
Jacob Y Kazakia
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