Obituary of Leona L. Pappas

Leona L. Pappas

08/18/25 – 09/16/20

 

West Columbia—It is with great sadness that we share the news of Our Beloved Mother passing away on Wednesday evening, September 16, 2020. Our Mom, Leona Pappas, affectionately known as “MaMa Lee” was born in Blairsville, PA to Katherine and Peter Lampou on August 18, 1925. She is preceded in death by two sisters Bertha and Dorothy and a brother Charles. Mom grew up in the Boston, MA area and graduated from the High School of Practical Arts in Roxbury, MA. Immediately upon graduation she began her work career at a airplane parts factory making parts for the War effort and could not have been prouder to have been one of the few women working her specific job. She met our Dad, Joseph Sr (deceased), while he was stationed at the Boston Naval Shipyard. They were married and she was soon on her way to Columbia, SC to become a “Southerner”. Together with Dad’s Father, James, owned and worked at the Astor Café in uptown. After raising four children she went on to work and retire with 20 yrs service, as a Supervisor, at AAFES Fort Jackson.

Our Mom was strong, smart and beautiful inside and out. She was a great Mom who found her joy in spending time with Family and Friends, her Dogs, a really good cup of black coffee, or simply being in the yard with her beautiful flowers. Her passions were growing and tending her garden, mastering sudoku and crosswords, doing beautiful cross-stitch work and she always remembered birthdays with a card or call.

Our MaMa Lee leaves behind the four of us, Joseph Pappas Jr (Sandra), Linda Jeffcoat (Glenn), Donna Andrews (Bill), Chuck Pappas (Rebecca) & all our children & grand along with many lifetime friends and her beloved “Girls” Bella and Miya. She may not be in our present Life but Her Presence will be felt everyday…most particularly in the Spring and Summer when the wind blows softly and the flowers are blooming and the Sun is shining.

We want to thank with a grateful heart, the very best care given to her by Dr Korman with Lexington Family Practice. Dr Korman’s attentive care gave us many more years to Love and enjoy her.

We hope to have a Celebration of Her Life in the near future. If you want to Honor Her Life, donations may be sent to any Humane Society or St Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

̴  “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my Angel Mother.”  ̴  Abraham Lincoln

Thompson Funeral Home of West Columbia is assisting the family.

Family and friends may sign the online guestbook at www.thompsonsfuneral.com