Kiki Maris

Kyriaki "Kiki" Maris, born in Mytilene, Greece, passed away on July 15th, 2023, at the age of 89, in North Kingstown RI.

Kiki was born on May 20, 1934, to John and Irene Regas. Kiki grew up with her loving sisters, Virginia and Maria and her loving brother Peter. The daughter of a fisherman, one of Kiki's favorite things was to watch the fishing boats leave and return to the port of Galilee, RI which reminded her of her early years in Greece.

Kiki was preceded in death by both of her parents, siblings, and husband Steve; she is survived by her sons: George (Patricia) Maris of South Kingstown, Rhode Island and John (Pella) Maris of Beaver, Pennsylvania as well as her six grandchildren; Stephen Maris, Nicholas Maris, George Maris, Stelio Maris, Maria Maris and Kyriaki Maris, and one great-grandson Lucas Maris.

Kiki came to the United States in 1961 to visit family and just before leaving New York City, met her future husband, Steve Maris. As she was about to leave New York, he proposed to her on July 4th, 1961, at the steps of the Statue of Liberty while they ate a hot dog and drank orange soda. They were married a few months later. Steve and Kiki continued to build their life in Astoria, Queens, New York, having their two sons, George, and John Maris.

Kiki persevered the challenges of moving to a new country. She worked in the family dry cleaning business utilizing her talents as a seamstress and tailor. She learned the language and became a citizen. The family eventually moved to New Hyde Park, Long Island. Kiki would go on to work for an exclusive designer of women's dresses as a finishing seamstress using laces, embroideries, and exclusive silks from around the world to finish the designer dresses.

In her later years, Kiki joined an assisted living community where she became an avid Bingo player. She was quite social, joining craft activities and participating in "daily discussions" with her neighbors. Kiki enjoyed outings to visit her family and of course her favorite store, Job Lot. She loved spending time with all of her grandchildren and was ecstatic to be able to meet and hold her first great-grandson, Lucas. Kiki was an avid knitter, creating blankets and scarves for her family and friends. She had an amazing green thumb and was able to break off a small shoot from a plant and nurture it to become a beautiful plant. She loved her Greek cross word puzzles that her nieces would send from Greece. She will be sadly missed.

The funeral services will be held on July 28th, 2023, with visitation from 9:00-10:00 am at the Memorial Funeral Home at 375 Broadway, Newport, RI followed by a funeral Mass at 11:00 am at St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church at 390 Thames Street, Newport RI. The burial will be held on July 29th, 2023, at St. Michael's Cemetery at 7202 Astoria Blvd., Queens, NY.

For online condolences, please visit www.memorialfuneralhome.com