Margaret Jean Vagalatos

Our beloved wife and mother, Margaret Vagalatos, was born on January 21, 1939, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She attended Catholic schools from Grade 1 through Grade 12, where she excelled in reading and writing. Throughout her life she remained an avid reader, often finishing entire books in three to four days, and she wrote beautiful, deep poetry and essays. One of those essays won an award from the El Paso Times.

In 1959 Margaret flew from Canada to El Paso, Texas, to visit her American cousin who was stationed at Fort Bliss. She immediately fell in love with the people, the desert landscape, the majestic mountains, and the culture. Margaret became a naturalized citizen of the United States and never looked back. She worked as an accountant in a military office on Fort Bliss, and it was there that she met Demetrios, a member of the Greek Royal Air Force.

Margaret and Demetrios married on August 23, 1970, before a justice of the peace in Las Cruces, New Mexico. After Demetrios completed his training at Fort Bliss, he returned to Greece for a year and a half to finish his military course. During that time their first child, Kathryn Jo, was born. Demetrios returned to the United States in May 1972 and began building their American family life. Exactly three years after their civil ceremony, on August 23, 1973, they were married in the Church at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in El Paso, Texas.

Margaret had converted from Catholicism to Greek Orthodoxy and dove wholeheartedly into her husband’s culture and faith. She learned to prepare all of his favorite Greek foods, filled their home with Greek artwork– paintings, needlepoints, silver and gold icons, and also framed photographs of his family across the ocean, bringing a little piece of his homeland into every room and onto every wall.

In 1974 Margaret and Demetrios welcomed their second child, Jason Anastasios. Margaret left her accounting career to stay home and raise her children, instilling God’s word, guiding them with her innate wisdom, and teaching them compassion. The family first worshiped at St. George Orthodox Antiochian Church and later at the newly established St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Margaret attended services faithfully and sang in the choir.

Margaret also spent many Saturdays in the church hall making baklava, kourabiedes, and mamoulia in support of the church’s annual Greek festival.

Margaret was an animal lover who would have saved every dog and cat if she could. She rescued several cats throughout her life; the Vagalatos family never went a day without one, two, or three adopted stray cats as family pets. Margaret donated regularly to El Paso animal charities. When Jason was a young boy he brought home a little turtle he had found; that turtle became the beginning of generations of Texas desert turtles that lived in the family’s backyard paradise for forty years. Margaret loved those turtles and often worried about their well-being.

After her children became teenagers, Margaret returned to work in the accounting office at the El Paso Independent School District, where she served for eighteen years. She enjoyed the productivity of the job while continuing to support her family. Margaret formed long-lasting, loving friendships with her coworkers in EPISD. She retired in 2002 and embraced the freedoms of retirement—traveling to visit her children in Austin, Texas; Payson, Arizona; and Colorado Springs, Colorado, where Margaret took quiet pride in the fruits of their labor. Together with

Demetrios she traveled: cruises and trips to Hawaii, the Caribbean islands, Alaska, and Canada, as well as weekend getaways to Ruidoso, New Mexico, and neighboring towns.

In her final decade, Margaret faced health challenges. She slowed a little yet remained positive and strong for everyone around her. She kept a healthy lifestyle with clean eating, daily mile-long evening walks, and gym visits three times a week. As longer journeys became difficult, she cherished visits from friends in town and from her children who now traveled to El Paso for family time together.

Margaret’s life was full. Every day was a blessing to her; she saw beauty in everything around her. She was thoughtful, caring, and deeply empathetic. Margaret was profoundly moved and heartbroken by the suffering of sick little children battling various diseases in hospitals. Her heart ached with sorrow and compassion for these young ones. Margaret faithfully donated to St. Jude's Children's Hospital and to the Shriner's Children's Hospitals.

Margaret was forgiving—she did not judge or assign blame, believing all of God’s children should be treated with tenderness and understanding. She was compelled to help others and frequently said, “We are blessed.” She wanted little for herself; her joy was loving and supporting her God, her husband, her children, her beloved pets and people and animals in need. Margaret was a giver who often thought of herself last. Margaret’s inner radiance forged relationships that stood the test of time.

Margaret is survived by her devoted husband of 56 years, Demetrios Vagalatos; her children, Kathryn Vagalatos of Austin, Texas, and Jason Anastasios Vagalatos and his wife, Tara, of Colorado Springs, Colorado; her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren; her brothers, Gene Orlando and his wife, Margo, and John Orlando and his wife, Colleen, of Nova Scotia; her treasured nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews; and many cherished friends in both Canada and El Paso.

Margaret was predeceased by her parents, Betty and John Smith, and her stepfather, Norman Orlando.

We feel a profound loss with Margaret’s passing and pray to our Lord to help us move forward without the precious glue of our family. We lean on our faith, trusting that our Lord and Savior will guide us with strength, peace, and hope. We know that one day, we too, will meet our Lord in heaven, and our mother will be there waiting with her arms outstretched. We have peace knowing that our beloved wife and mother, Margaret, no longer suffers and rests now in the loving embrace of our Lord in Heaven.

Please visit the website for Celebration of Life information.