Stella Ladas Glitsos

Stella Ladas Glitsos passed away at the age of 100 on March 11, 2025, after a short illness. Stella was the 10th of 12 children born to Greek immigrants Panagiota (Pitsa) and Charles Ladas on November 4, 1924, in Bisbee, Arizona, and the last surviving member of her siblings. The family lived in Bisbee on OK Street, on Youngblood Hill and moved to Phoenix in 1935 where they were among the founding members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, now Cathedral. 

Stella attended Monroe Elementary School and Phoenix Union High School. At the beginning of WWII in 1942, at age 17 Stella went to work for the Army at Williams Airfield immediately after graduating from high school. She needed to help support the family as four of her brothers were serving in the military. She would leave her home on 4th St. and Garfield before dawn to catch the streetcar to meet co-workers for the long car ride to the base in the east valley. She was a Travel Clerk, responsible for dispatching the graduating pilots to their respective bases.

From Williams Field she transferred to the Quarter Master Market Center and Service Command Unit 1921 on Harrison St. and Jackson St. in Phoenix, working as a Travel Clerk until the war’s end. Stella was very proud to have handled the transportation for Sylvester Herrera to attend Washington DC to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, and often talked of how she would worry about the soldiers she sent out to be deployed in active duty.

After the war, Stella transferred to the Veteran’s Administration Regional Office and Veteran’s Hospital, where she arranged for veterans to be transported to receive treatment. She worked there until the birth of her first daughter, Rena, in 1955, followed by daughters Lisa and Paula (Peach). When the girls were teenagers, Stella assisted her husband Paul in his produce business, doing the accounts and billing, and later also worked in the real estate industry for Tom Fannin/Merrill Lynch Realty.

Because she had to begin working right out of high school to help support her family, Stella was not able to attend college until much later. She possessed a very curious mind and loved learning, and while raising her daughters, returned to school, graduating from Phoenix College in 1971. She was very proud of that accomplishment. Stella found beauty in every aspect of nature; often calling her neighbors to go out and look at a beautiful moon. Up until her very last days she still found joy looking at the blue sky and clouds, hearing the birds, and watching plants bloom and change with the seasons.

Stella proudly referred to her three girls as her “bouquet” and was truly a wonderful mother and homemaker. Her house was always immaculately clean, and her family had home-cooked meals every day. She loved doing home improvement projects, often surprising her husband when he returned from business travel with newly painted or wall-papered rooms or freshly laid flooring, which she did herself.

Stella was a long-time member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral and was very active in the church community, serving on the Parish Council, active in the Philoptochos Society, also working as a parish secretary for many years and was instrumental in founding the Hellenic Museum located at the cathedral. She was beloved there by her church family and was known for always being impeccably dressed, complete with her signature parasols during the summer months. She was a friend to everyone, always reaching out to make newcomers at church feel welcome, and would strike up friendly conversations wherever she went, always finding people’s stories fascinating. Stella was very devout, possessing a very strong faith and genuinely strived to live her life accordingly. She rarely missed church until in her last few years it became too physically difficult for her to attend.

She was preceded in death by her handsome “Greek God” Paul, in 1989 after 41 years of marriage. Stella leaves behind her three daughters, Rena, (Tom Noga), Lisa, (Jim Elam), Paula, (Colin Walsh) granddaughters Stella Louise Elam and Sofia Pauline Walsh, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. Until her last days, she never parted from her loved ones without reminding us to “be careful, say your prayers”. She will be missed by all.

Services will be held Friday, March 21, 2025, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 1973 E. Maryland, Phoenix, AZ 85016. Visitation 9:30 a.m., Services 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her name to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral or specify donation for the Hellenic Museum located there.