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A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Monday for Artemis Sentementes Papagelis, a longtime Stamford resident and restaurant owner, at the Church of the Archangels, 1527 Bedford St. Papagelis died Jan. 11 at her Stamford home. She was 84.
She was born Dec. 20, 1926, in Athens, Greece. Her father operated a business in Kalamata, Greece, where Papagelis grew up. She came to the United States in 1949 and made headlines even before reaching American soil by giving birth to her son, Nicholas, while traveling on the S.S. Nea Hellas. The New York Daily News reported the birth.
Papagelis' husband, a hero in the Greek Royal Navy during World War II, came to Stamford the following year. The couple opened a restaurant on Manhattan Street, first called the Athens Bar and Restaurant and later known as Chris' Cafe, which they operated for three decades. Papagelis also worked at Stelma Inc. and Dataproducts Corp.
Papagelis was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangels. She especially enjoyed baking and cooking Greek dishes. Other favorite pastimes were knitting and reading.
Papagelis was predeceased by her husband, Christos "Chris" Papagelis. She is survived by daughter Mary Janocha and husband Bill of Stamford; son Nicholas Papagelis and wife Louise of Duarte, Calif.; brothers Aristotle "Harry" Sentementes and wife Penelope of Stamford, Andrew Sentementes and wife Pamela of Stamford, and Pericles "Perry" Sentementes and wife Erika of Darien; and two grandsons and many nieces and nephews.
The Monday morning service will be followed by burial at Fairfield Memorial Park. Donations in Papagelis' memory may be made to the Church of the Archangels, 1527 Bedford St., Stamford, CT 06905.
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