Constance B. Kavalaris

Age 88, passed away January 15, 2024. She was born June 23, 1935, in Lansing, MI to William and Chrisoula (Kokkinis) Limber. Connie graduated from J.W. Sexton High School, then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education from Michigan State University. While there, she worked at the family business, Capital Laundry on W. Saginaw St. After MSU, she did some substitute teaching, but Connie spent most of her time balancing caring for family with various work activities to ensure that her father’s legacy, Capital Laundry, and its site, were redeveloped into a new venture when the advent of home washing machines & dryers changed the dynamics of the family’s historical business. Connie’s selfless dedication to family, including her parents and brother, especially as they aged, necessitating additional daily care, demonstrated Connie’s priority of “family first.” Her brother, Nick, lovingly would frequently call Connie his “guardian angel.” And, she did this while never neglecting her own immediate family, cheerfully and actively raising son, Jim, and sharing household responsibilities with her husband, Gus, of over sixty-two years. And, Connie took care of Gus, as he aged, with their son, Jim, who stepped-up to help in so many ways as he was taught well by his mother and father, and was inspired by their example. Connie blessed many, both near and far, with her unconditional love, caring and sweetness!

Connie came from a large extended family, and genuinely enjoyed every opportunity to visit with them, over the years, whether in-person for those in Chicagoland, Ohio or Michigan, or via phone or written correspondence for those further away in California, Greece, and beyond. And, Connie enjoyed visiting with her friends, who ranged from those known from high school and earlier (Connie many times served on class reunion committees), to those met at Church growing-up, to those she met who had moved to Lansing later in life and formed a liking to Connie. And, these were often very close friendships, even if it meant Connie had fewer casual friends, making each such person’s relationship over the years unique and of greater importance in her life. Connie preferred in-depth one-to-one conversations, and thus never had a “social media” account. Her friends say that Connie never spoke ill-will about anyone. She was aware of the “ups and downs” of the world we live in, but chose to encourage respect, privacy, and healing; not gossip. And, Connie was an authentic listener; always interested in the well-being of others and taking actual special interest in their life, for example, by asking how their kids were doing, and remembering!

Nevertheless, Connie’s number one loves were her husband and their son. She inspired learning. Her son, Jim, fondly remembers Connie taking him to local libraries at the youngest of ages and beyond. In later years, Connie would pick him up from after-school enrichment activities and drive him to/from computer classes when such home devices were new in the early 1980s. And, Connie would keep up with such, frequently using computers herself, up until her passing, to research and learn new things to help her family, generally, or with a particular need relating to health and business situations; or, to simply lookup a new recipe, check her email, or read the news, discovering new subjects along the way. With intent, Connie balanced the traditional and the contemporary. Connie was of strong mind and was a determined person, petite and humble, and did surprise doctors during her later years by being biologically much younger and mentally much stronger than her chronological age implied. Connie never gave up on herself or others!

Connie was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, where she sang in the choir (continuing a lifelong love of music that went back to her days playing clarinet in the high school band, and piano learnings started later in life). And, she was active in both the Daughters of Penelope and Philoptochos Society philanthropic groups; including, chairperson for decades of the “pre-orders” committee for Lansing’s annual Athenian Luncheon/Greek Bake Sale special event. Connie also enjoyed attending several Greek ethnic social conventions around the country, and such summer festivals around the state, preserving and supporting the traditions of her Greek ancestry for the next generation. And, Connie loved to collect cookbooks and she ensured her family was well nourished every day as she shared duties of the home with her husband and son, both inspiring Jim’s love of learning, cooking, and research and organizational skills. For local fun, Connie and Gus attended MSU basketball games and the touring Broadway shows, for decades. A special memory, and blessing, was Connie’s trip to Indianapolis when Jim surprised his mother with tickets to attend, together, MSU’s NCAA Basketball National Championship game in 2000.

Connie also enjoyed various special travels over the years with Gus and Jim to a big city of the USA and Canada, or visits, when son Jim had moved away post-university for fourteen years, to see him and enjoy time with him in his new city and to share meaningful interactions with his friends. Even a simple random weekend “up north” in Michigan was enough to re-charge Mom. And, as she and Gus aged, fun could be a simple Saturday getaway to an out-of-town Jacobson’s department store on the way to visit family, or a dedicated drive to browse the unique furniture stores in Grand Rapids, Chelsea, or suburban Detroit before a special meal in said city; often, coupled with a stroll through one of the state’s large fountain-filled indoor shopping malls (when such were the “Main Street” of communities). The goal was never really shopping, but a time for togetherness among Connie and Gus. Just like when they would take son, Jim, when still a baby, to downtown Lansing in his stroller to shop at the department stores and other retail outlets that lined Washington Ave. This was important because it helped to expand their son’s horizon and to see that the world was more than the four walls of home, the neighborhood, or one city. Getting out and seeing life and people beyond one’s initial comfort zone was important because it was part of education, and togetherness. And, Connie was down-to-earth enough that she never had to have their home perfectly finished from day one after marriage. They still had friends over even with sheets becoming hand-sewn curtains their first year, remnants for rugs, and hand-me-downs from family for a table and bed. They were together, young, and did over the years what so many today try to finish quickly. And, as they grew together as a couple and eventual family of three, they took each other’s evolving tastes into consideration and it brought them closer to each other and to goals of a more completed home. Perhaps, this is why they never got bored there, because of always having something for which to look forward. And, son Jim learned this from a young age, by example, that not all has to be bought day one (leave something for next time) and that skipping an initial regular price is smart because saving on something today can pay for a special indulgence, tomorrow. By witnessing these lifelong examples of Connie and Gus, Jim, saw, by example, that when ego, immediacy, and impulsiveness are set aside and replaced with patience, love and respectful decisions, a lifetime of happiness can endure, without sacrificing spontaneity.

Connie is most certainly missed. A special neighbor of many decades correctly writes that, “The world is a lesser place without Connie in it.” Jim writes that he was blessed to have an additional 44-years with his mother, Connie, after she, with God’s grace and strength, beat a very serious cancer in 1979 that could have otherwise made his and his father’s life so very different and empty. Faith offers Jim comfort as he writes this obituary, both parents with God in less than one year to the week. And, with eternal memory and love in his heart of both his parents, Connie and Gus, who in faith we believe are reunited and at peace, Jim proclaims his love to them both and expresses his thanks to them both, always and forever.  “I love you, Mom!”

Connie is survived by her son, James G. “Jim” Kavalaris; her sister, Helen (Perry) Cargas; one Godson through baptism, Stuart (Elizabeth) Vanis; and multiple nieces and nephews who were all loved very much by “Thea” (aunt in Greek) Connie. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Nicholas W. Limber, and love of her life, who she knew since high school days and at Church, lifelong husband of over sixty-two years, Gus J. Kavalaris.

The funeral service is at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 23, 2024, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1701 E. Saginaw St., Lansing, MI. Interment follows in Deepdale Memorial Gardens.  Her family will receive friends at the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, with a Trisagion Service at 7:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in memory of Connie Kavalaris.  Online condolences to family may be left at EstesLeadley.com. From the traditional Greek: May her memory be eternal!