Mary Z. Floor
Mary Z. Floor, matriarch to many, passed away December 31, 2018. Her elegance, hospitality and unconditional love are legendary throughout a community that spreads from coast to coast.
The third child of Greek immigrants Calliope Leonoudakis and John Zekas, she was born in Carbon County, Utah, April 22, 1923. The family moved throughout Utah, from coal mining country north, eventually settling in Salt Lake City. Mary graduated from South High and attended the University of Utah. She had an indomitable spirit and curiosity, typified in her early 20s when she, Esther Brown and (cousin) Mary Leonoudakis embarked on an epic adventure unheard of for single women in the 1940s: travelling across the U.S. and Mexico in a surplus war vehicle, working odd jobs in locales as diverse as the Grand Canyon and small towns in the south, experiencing all the majesty, wonder and even intolerance along the way.
Back in northern Utah, she supported herself working as a bookkeeper, and in 1947 met the love of her life, Steve Floor. Though their connection was immediate and intense, they stayed apart for six years - a separation Mary regretted the remainder of her life as time wasted. Eventually reunited, they married in 1953, starting a family with four children and building a house in suburban Salt Lake City that Mary would live in the rest of her life. Tragically, Steve died in 1961, leaving Mary alone with four small children in an era not particularly supportive of single mothering. Two years later, she met George Tsouras, a widower with three daughters. The two were married and raised their blended family, divorcing in 1978.
Mary continued work as a bookkeeper throughout her adult life at various organizations, including Educators Mutual and Mountain State Marketing and Sales. She had an innate feel for all things design, from clothing to interiors, touching it all with a simple flair. She explored painting and drawing, but her real canvas was her house, which she continually reworked to make it ever more open, welcoming and gracious. Over the decades, Mary became the linchpin for her extended family, a link to a disappearing generation for a vast network of cousins, in-laws and an entire host of people who simply through Mary's love became part of her family. For those who lost their own parents, she was like a mother. Sitting at her kitchen counter, "Cafe Mary", while she doted and doled out generous helpings of her impeccable cooking, coffee and cocktails, one would always feel the comfort of a well-grounded home. Her repertoire ranged from haute cuisine and Greek pastries to grilled cheese and waffles. You knew, without question, that Mary cared about you. Her impish humor and infectious smile were the shining light for many lives.
The immediate family owes an immense debt of gratitude to many, and in particular cousins Julie Taylor and John Johnson, both of whom have supported Mary and been a reliable presence over the years.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Steve and George, sister Dianne Johnson, and step-daughter Loretta Tsouras. She is survived by sister Kathryn and brother Dean (Sylvia Koukourakis), her children J. Steven (Terra Lynn D'Agostino), Phillip (Robin Lindgren), Callie (John Chapot, d. 2017) and Jeffrey (Delia Hall); step-daughters Georgene Tsouras Floor and Patti Tsouras; grandchildren Steve Floor, Mary Jessie Floor, Theo Floor and Mitso Floor; and step-grandchildren Joe Chapot (Jayanti), Rita Chapot, and Kahle Jackett (Carolyn Vlcek).
Her ashes will be interred in a plot next to Steve at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
May her memory be eternal.
The Salt Lake Tribune | Salt Lake City, Utah | January 3, 2019
Mary Z. Floor, matriarch to many, passed away December 31, 2018. Her elegance, hospitality and unconditional love are legendary throughout a community that spreads from coast to coast.
The third child of Greek immigrants Calliope Leonoudakis and John Zekas, she was born in Carbon County, Utah, April 22, 1923. The family moved throughout Utah, from coal mining country north, eventually settling in Salt Lake City. Mary graduated from South High and attended the University of Utah. She had an indomitable spirit and curiosity, typified in her early 20s when she, Esther Brown and (cousin) Mary Leonoudakis embarked on an epic adventure unheard of for single women in the 1940s: travelling across the U.S. and Mexico in a surplus war vehicle, working odd jobs in locales as diverse as the Grand Canyon and small towns in the south, experiencing all the majesty, wonder and even intolerance along the way.
Back in northern Utah, she supported herself working as a bookkeeper, and in 1947 met the love of her life, Steve Floor. Though their connection was immediate and intense, they stayed apart for six years - a separation Mary regretted the remainder of her life as time wasted. Eventually reunited, they married in 1953, starting a family with four children and building a house in suburban Salt Lake City that Mary would live in the rest of her life. Tragically, Steve died in 1961, leaving Mary alone with four small children in an era not particularly supportive of single mothering. Two years later, she met George Tsouras, a widower with three daughters. The two were married and raised their blended family, divorcing in 1978.
Mary continued work as a bookkeeper throughout her adult life at various organizations, including Educators Mutual and Mountain State Marketing and Sales. She had an innate feel for all things design, from clothing to interiors, touching it all with a simple flair. She explored painting and drawing, but her real canvas was her house, which she continually reworked to make it ever more open, welcoming and gracious. Over the decades, Mary became the linchpin for her extended family, a link to a disappearing generation for a vast network of cousins, in-laws and an entire host of people who simply through Mary's love became part of her family. For those who lost their own parents, she was like a mother. Sitting at her kitchen counter, "Cafe Mary", while she doted and doled out generous helpings of her impeccable cooking, coffee and cocktails, one would always feel the comfort of a well-grounded home. Her repertoire ranged from haute cuisine and Greek pastries to grilled cheese and waffles. You knew, without question, that Mary cared about you. Her impish humor and infectious smile were the shining light for many lives.
The immediate family owes an immense debt of gratitude to many, and in particular cousins Julie Taylor and John Johnson, both of whom have supported Mary and been a reliable presence over the years.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Steve and George, sister Dianne Johnson, and step-daughter Loretta Tsouras. She is survived by sister Kathryn and brother Dean (Sylvia Koukourakis), her children J. Steven (Terra Lynn D'Agostino), Phillip (Robin Lindgren), Callie (John Chapot, d. 2017) and Jeffrey (Delia Hall); step-daughters Georgene Tsouras Floor and Patti Tsouras; grandchildren Steve Floor, Mary Jessie Floor, Theo Floor and Mitso Floor; and step-grandchildren Joe Chapot (Jayanti), Rita Chapot, and Kahle Jackett (Carolyn Vlcek).
Her ashes will be interred in a plot next to Steve at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
May her memory be eternal.
The Salt Lake Tribune | Salt Lake City, Utah | January 3, 2019
Mary Z. Floor
Mary Z. Floor, matriarch to many, passed away December 31, 2018. Her elegance, hospitality and unconditional love are legendary throughout a community that spreads from coast to coast.
The third child of Greek immigrants Calliope Leonoudakis and John Zekas, she was born in Carbon County, Utah, April 22, 1923. The family moved throughout Utah, from coal mining country north, eventually settling in Salt Lake City. Mary graduated from South High and attended the University of Utah. She had an indomitable spirit and curiosity, typified in her early 20s when she, Esther Brown and (cousin) Mary Leonoudakis embarked on an epic adventure unheard of for single women in the 1940s: travelling across the U.S. and Mexico in a surplus war vehicle, working odd jobs in locales as diverse as the Grand Canyon and small towns in the south, experiencing all the majesty, wonder and even intolerance along the way.
Back in northern Utah, she supported herself working as a bookkeeper, and in 1947 met the love of her life, Steve Floor. Though their connection was immediate and intense, they stayed apart for six years - a separation Mary regretted the remainder of her life as time wasted. Eventually reunited, they married in 1953, starting a family with four children and building a house in suburban Salt Lake City that Mary would live in the rest of her life. Tragically, Steve died in 1961, leaving Mary alone with four small children in an era not particularly supportive of single mothering. Two years later, she met George Tsouras, a widower with three daughters. The two were married and raised their blended family, divorcing in 1978.
Mary continued work as a bookkeeper throughout her adult life at various organizations, including Educators Mutual and Mountain State Marketing and Sales. She had an innate feel for all things design, from clothing to interiors, touching it all with a simple flair. She explored painting and drawing, but her real canvas was her house, which she continually reworked to make it ever more open, welcoming and gracious. Over the decades, Mary became the linchpin for her extended family, a link to a disappearing generation for a vast network of cousins, in-laws and an entire host of people who simply through Mary's love became part of her family. For those who lost their own parents, she was like a mother. Sitting at her kitchen counter, "Cafe Mary", while she doted and doled out generous helpings of her impeccable cooking, coffee and cocktails, one would always feel the comfort of a well-grounded home. Her repertoire ranged from haute cuisine and Greek pastries to grilled cheese and waffles. You knew, without question, that Mary cared about you. Her impish humor and infectious smile were the shining light for many lives.
The immediate family owes an immense debt of gratitude to many, and in particular cousins Julie Taylor and John Johnson, both of whom have supported Mary and been a reliable presence over the years.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Steve and George, sister Dianne Johnson, and step-daughter Loretta Tsouras. She is survived by sister Kathryn and brother Dean (Sylvia Koukourakis), her children J. Steven (Terra Lynn D'Agostino), Phillip (Robin Lindgren), Callie (John Chapot, d. 2017) and Jeffrey (Delia Hall); step-daughters Georgene Tsouras Floor and Patti Tsouras; grandchildren Steve Floor, Mary Jessie Floor, Theo Floor and Mitso Floor; and step-grandchildren Joe Chapot (Jayanti), Rita Chapot, and Kahle Jackett (Carolyn Vlcek).
Her ashes will be interred in a plot next to Steve at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
May her memory be eternal.
The Salt Lake Tribune | Salt Lake City, Utah | January 3, 2019
Mary Z. Floor, matriarch to many, passed away December 31, 2018. Her elegance, hospitality and unconditional love are legendary throughout a community that spreads from coast to coast.
The third child of Greek immigrants Calliope Leonoudakis and John Zekas, she was born in Carbon County, Utah, April 22, 1923. The family moved throughout Utah, from coal mining country north, eventually settling in Salt Lake City. Mary graduated from South High and attended the University of Utah. She had an indomitable spirit and curiosity, typified in her early 20s when she, Esther Brown and (cousin) Mary Leonoudakis embarked on an epic adventure unheard of for single women in the 1940s: travelling across the U.S. and Mexico in a surplus war vehicle, working odd jobs in locales as diverse as the Grand Canyon and small towns in the south, experiencing all the majesty, wonder and even intolerance along the way.
Back in northern Utah, she supported herself working as a bookkeeper, and in 1947 met the love of her life, Steve Floor. Though their connection was immediate and intense, they stayed apart for six years - a separation Mary regretted the remainder of her life as time wasted. Eventually reunited, they married in 1953, starting a family with four children and building a house in suburban Salt Lake City that Mary would live in the rest of her life. Tragically, Steve died in 1961, leaving Mary alone with four small children in an era not particularly supportive of single mothering. Two years later, she met George Tsouras, a widower with three daughters. The two were married and raised their blended family, divorcing in 1978.
Mary continued work as a bookkeeper throughout her adult life at various organizations, including Educators Mutual and Mountain State Marketing and Sales. She had an innate feel for all things design, from clothing to interiors, touching it all with a simple flair. She explored painting and drawing, but her real canvas was her house, which she continually reworked to make it ever more open, welcoming and gracious. Over the decades, Mary became the linchpin for her extended family, a link to a disappearing generation for a vast network of cousins, in-laws and an entire host of people who simply through Mary's love became part of her family. For those who lost their own parents, she was like a mother. Sitting at her kitchen counter, "Cafe Mary", while she doted and doled out generous helpings of her impeccable cooking, coffee and cocktails, one would always feel the comfort of a well-grounded home. Her repertoire ranged from haute cuisine and Greek pastries to grilled cheese and waffles. You knew, without question, that Mary cared about you. Her impish humor and infectious smile were the shining light for many lives.
The immediate family owes an immense debt of gratitude to many, and in particular cousins Julie Taylor and John Johnson, both of whom have supported Mary and been a reliable presence over the years.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, husbands Steve and George, sister Dianne Johnson, and step-daughter Loretta Tsouras. She is survived by sister Kathryn and brother Dean (Sylvia Koukourakis), her children J. Steven (Terra Lynn D'Agostino), Phillip (Robin Lindgren), Callie (John Chapot, d. 2017) and Jeffrey (Delia Hall); step-daughters Georgene Tsouras Floor and Patti Tsouras; grandchildren Steve Floor, Mary Jessie Floor, Theo Floor and Mitso Floor; and step-grandchildren Joe Chapot (Jayanti), Rita Chapot, and Kahle Jackett (Carolyn Vlcek).
Her ashes will be interred in a plot next to Steve at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
May her memory be eternal.
The Salt Lake Tribune | Salt Lake City, Utah | January 3, 2019
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