Obituary of Florence K Avgerakis

Florence Avgerakis died February 13, 2024 at her home in Monroe Township, NJ from congestive heart failure. She was 97. Born in Somerville, NJ to George and Elizabeth (Karikaris) Harris, she lived in Ewing before moving to the Rossmoor Community in Monroe Township 21 years ago. After graduating from Trenton High School, in 1944, Florence studied dress design at the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City, where Traphagen’s “design-by-adaptation” method originated Native American and African American fashion motifs. Her contemporaries at the school included James Galanos, Geoffrey Beene and fellow Trentonian, Edie Adams. Soon after graduation, Florence met, US Navy WWII veteran, Thomas Avgerakis, for whom she abandoned a career in fashion to become a dedicated wife, mother and provider. Mrs. Avgerakis worked as a seamstress, a bookkeeper for the NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, a real estate manager, and a single-client executive chef before retiring with her husband in 1985. Mrs. Avgerakis was a member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church in Hamilton, NJ. Florence is predeceased by her husband and sisters, Betty Stamat of Trenton, NJ and Dorothy Pavlos of Timonium, MD, sisters-in-law, Katherine (Avgerakis) Stamat, Libby (Avgerakis) Alfieris, Anna (Avgerakis) Nyktas and Mary (Pappas) Avgerakis; and brothers-in-law, Ben Stamat, Paul Pavlos, Louis Stamat, James Avgerakis. Surviving are her two sons; George Avgerakis and his wife Maria of Yonkers, NY and Will Avgerakis and his wife Bethany Mclure of Metuchen, NJ; sister-in-law, Helen (Avgerakis) Kousoulides, brother-in-law, Elias Nyktas, five grandchildren – Jasmine Avgerakis-Marks and her husband Michael Marks, Ethan Avgerakis and his wife Alison, Adrian Avgerakis and his wife, Kimara, LtCol, Stephanie Pfeiffer and her husband, Maj. James, and Alexander Avgerakis; and five great grandchildren; Violet Beth Avgerakis, Connor Pfeiffer, Nicholas Pfeiffer, Tyler Pfeiffer and Isabella Pfeiffer Visitation will be 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at Poulson & Van Hise Funeral Home, 650 Lawrence Rd. Rt. 206, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Funeral services will be at 10:30 AM Wednesday, February 22, 2024, at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 1200 Klockner Road, Hamilton. Entombment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery in Hamilton. Well-wishers may provide flowers, written works or donate contributions in her name to St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Hamilton or the Salvation Army.