Demetra Notaras

Demetra Notaras passed away on Sunday, Sept. 21 surrounded by her beloved family. She deeply valued her roles as a wife, mother and grandmother.

Demetra was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Manhattan. Growing up, the family split its time between their homes in New York City, Miami and summers in the Catskills.

In 1954, Demetra met and married John Notaras in Miami. John was an electrical engineer in the defense and aerospace fields who worked on the ground breaking Lunar-Excursion Module (LEM) for the Apollo space programs. The couple settled in Woodbury, New York and raised four children, Maria, Paul, James and George.

Demetra’s principal passion was for reading. She always had an active collection of books that launched, fed and deepened her interests in a wide range of subjects. Demetra was happiest when sitting comfortably in her cozy “reading corner” enjoying one of her very lengthy books.

Despite her busy schedule raising four children, Demetra was a tireless volunteer in her community.

Demetra’s love of reading became a powerful call to volunteer as a book group leader with local youth with the Junior Great Books Program. The Great Books Program emphasizes the joy of reading, reading comprehension, critical thinking and effective communication. Demetra would glow when she prepared, led or came home from book group meetings at the local library.

Demetra was a tireless presence in her local, county, state and national PTA organizations. In 1980, Demetra was named an Honorary Life Member of the National PTA.

Faith and community were central to both Demetra and John. They were among the first people to build and develop the vibrant Parish of St. Paul’s Greek Orthodox Church in Hempstead, NY. In 1988, the Parish was proclaimed as the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Long Island.

For over 20 years, Demetra served her Parish as a Sunday School teacher and eventually as the director of the Parish Sunday School.

After the sudden loss of her dear husband John in 1979, Demetra re-directed her energies from volunteer work to the workplace. Demetra loved her work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

In 2005, Demetra moved to Santa Monica to be close to her family in Pacific Palisades and Los Angeles.

Demetra’s love of learning found a wonderful new life in the Senior Scholars Program at UCLA. She loved the opportunity to audit courses and meet new friends.

Demetra found tremendous strength, support and love from her fellow Parishioners at the Parish of St. Matthew in Pacific Palisades.

She is survived by her sister Christine Pavlounis of Garrison, New York; her children Maria, Paul, Jim and George; daughter-in-law Martha; and four grandchildren Andrew, Charlotte, Tyler and Paige.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 3 p.m. at The Parish of St. Matthew, 1031 Bienveneda Ave., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests that donations be made in Demetra’s name to The Great Books Foundation (www.greatbooks.org).