Zotinoula Siderellis

Zotinoula Siderellis was born Zotinoula Grigoriou to Alexandros and Eleni Grigoriou on the 25th August 1934 in Repanidi, Limnos, Greece. She was the first born of three children in the family. Her birth was followed by her younger siblings Marianthi and Pavlos. Zotinoula was a family orientated person. She attended school where she learnt basic literacy and numeracy, which was a rare opportunity during the war years. She enjoyed time spent with her siblings, cousins and friends. There were many stories told of cooking, working in the fields, family gatherings and her love of life in the village. On 14th February 1960, she married George Siderellis from the village of Varos, Limnos and gave birth to her twin daughters Christine and Helen on the 5th October 1961. Soon after, George and Zotinoula packed up their life with their toddlers in tow and moved to Australia in search of a better life for their family. George’s sister Eleni and brother-in-law Nicholas assisted the transition to their family home in Marrickville, Sydney, Australia. Whilst in Australia, George was a labourer and forklift driver on a building site. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, especially on picnics and dances with the Limnian community. He loved to sing and was very musical. He was considered the joker of the crowd and the life of the party. On the 18th January 1973, George suddenly passed away leaving behind his family who continued their lives in Australia. During her time in Australia, Zotinoula was a factory worker at the Polaroid Sunglasses Factory on Parramatta Road, Camperdown. She then worked as a seamstress at home working for many companies, including: Cue, Sussan, Katies and other large department stores before retiring as a homemaker. Zotinoula loved her family and was excited to see it expanding with the marriage of her daughters. Christine married Fred in 1987 and Helen married Kon in 1990. The family then expanded again with the birth of her five grandchildren: Alana in 1989, Jordan and Michael in 1991, George in 1993 and Christiane in 1996. Like many of the ladies of her generation, she was an excellent homemaker and in particular a great cook. She was known for her famous bread, tiropites, koulouria and many Greek sweets - everyone would request these for their functions for years to come. She also loved her garden and loved growing flowers, in particular orchids. She always shared her prized orchids with her family and friends. She frequently attended church services until she no longer could; however, she always continued to practice her faith. Zotinoula returned to her beloved Repanidi, Limnos, Greece a few times since migrating to Australia and enjoyed every time she had returned to her homeland. She was an avid sport fan who would watch all sports until early hours of the morning. In particular, she loved to watch the wrestling, tennis, AFL and NRL. Zotinoula was a strong and healthy lady for all of her life until she peacefully passed on 28th August 2019 - three days after her 85th birthday. Zotinoula and George are now finally together after 46 years apart. She will be remembered by many as a kind-hearted, gentle, loving and sweet soul that would put everyone before herself first. She will be sorely missed by her children, grandchildren, relatives and friends.