PHOTO: Wreaths For Ioanna, outside the Church of St. Anargyroi in Glyfa. May her memory Be Eternal!
ΕΑΝ ΠΡΟΤΙΜΑΤΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΠΑΤΗΣΤΕ ΤΗ ΣΗΜΑΙΑ ΣΤΟ ΚΑΤΩ ΜΕΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΟΘΟΝΗΣ
By Helleniscope’s Editorial Team
The funeral of Ioanna Antzoulis-Giannopoulos took place today, Tuesday, August 25, in Glyfa, Fthiotis, Greece, where it was also announced that her 40-day Memorial service will take place in New York.
Family members, friends, colleagues and members of the Greek-American community gathered at the Church of Saints Anargyroi in Glyfa to bid a final farewell to the longtime Director of Operations of Hellenic Public Radio–Cosmos FM, whose sudden death has brought an outpouring of grief on both sides of the Atlantic. Giannopoulos died unexpectedly on Sunday, August 23, while spending her customary summer vacation with her family in her native Fthiotis.
For more than two decades, Giannopoulos was one of the people most closely identified with GAEPIS and Cosmos FM 91.5, the New York-based non-commercial Greek-American radio service. Born in Lamia and raised in Athens, she immigrated to Brooklyn with her family in 1973. Her connection with Greek-language radio began when she was just 18, working with the daily “Paralikas Show” on WEVD. After stepping away from broadcasting to raise her sons, George and Thomas, she remained deeply involved in the Greek Orthodox community, particularly at the Three Hierarchs parish in Brooklyn, where she served in the Parent-Teacher Organization, on the school board and with the Philoptochos. She joined GAEPIS–Cosmos FM as a volunteer in 2001, later becoming an administrative assistant and, in 2006, Director of Operations.
Greek-American media remembered her not simply as a radio executive, but as a central force behind an institution that has helped preserve the Greek language, culture, music and community life in New York. Colleagues affectionately called her the “Μάνα του Λόχου” — the “mother of the company” — while she had also been described as the “Guardian Angel of Cosmos FM,” reflecting the behind-the-scenes role she played in supporting producers, volunteers and the station’s daily operations. In 2018, the Association of Greek American Professional Women honored her as its Greek American Woman of the Year for her service to the community.
Her passing prompted tributes from across the organized Greek-American community. The Board of GAEPIS–Cosmos FM described Giannopoulos as a trusted colleague, devoted friend and mentor whose work helped advance the organization’s mission of connecting Greek Americans through language, culture, education and community programming. AB Elpidophoros also expressed his condolences, noting that through more than two decades of dedicated service to Cosmos FM and GAEPIS, she helped strengthen “the voice of Hellenism in America” and the bonds between the diaspora and Greece. With today’s farewell in Fthiotis completed, her friends and the community she served for decades will come together once again in New York for her 40-day Memorial service.
August 25, 2026, www.helleniscope.com, n.stamatakis@aol.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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