Elizabeth Vamvakas

Elizabeth Vamvakas was born on October 10, 1940, in Jaffa, Palestine, into a family of eleven children. Her parents were of Greek origin, and Arabic was the language spoken at home, making it her first language. Following the first Arab–Israeli war, her family relocated to Egypt, where she attended school. There she started her first family and was blessed with three children. In March 1988, she married Dr. Angelos Vamvakas in Elefsina, Greece. At the invitation of her mother, who had already become a U.S. citizen, Elizabeth and Angelos immigrated to the United States and settled in Connecticut, where he practiced as a board-certified psychiatrist. In 2003, they moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where they made their home for the remainder of her life.

Baptized as an infant at the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem, Elizabeth remained a devout Orthodox Christian all her days. After arriving on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, she became a beloved member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Biloxi. Within that community she was cherished as a living link to the ancient roots of Orthodox Christianity in the Holy Land.

She is survived by her husband, Angelos Vamvakas; her daughters, Gianna of Genova, Italy, and Akaterina of D’Iberville, Mississippi; and her three grandchildren, Ioannes of Genova, Italy, and four-year-old twins Adam and Sara. Her son, Bassem, who lived on the Gulf Coast, preceded her in death in 2023.