Nitsa Morekas passed peacefully at Gilchrist Hospice on 2 October. She was born in Kalamata, Greece to Konstantina and Konstantinos N. Morakeas (Morekas). Her early life, shared with her older sister Stasa, was along the lovely coast of this beautiful city located in the southern Peloponnese.

After the Greek Civil War ended in 1950 and ten years of war, her parents considered moving to America. The family was sponsored by her father’s brothers, Spyros and Panayioti. In 1951, Nitsa and her family set sail on the S.S. Nea Hellas ocean liner, arriving in Baltimore in June1951. A few years after the family arrived in Baltimore, they welcomed a third sister, Eva Tayete (Morekas) Fokianos. Nitsa began to learn English at school. She graduated with honors from Southern High School in 1959. The family eventually settled in their home on White Avenue.

Nitsa started working at Kentrikon in the early 1960s. Kentrikon (Center in English), 4704 Eastern Avenue, was a go-to spot for Greek Americans since 1954. It was where the neighborhood came to buy decorations for their weddings and baptisms, to book tickets for a vacation back to their Greek homeland, to hear the latest Greek music. From the day it opened, the store was home base for “The Greek American Radio Hour,” a show her cousin John Morekas had started in 1952. In later years, Nitsa assisted in broadcasting the news. Heard on WBMD-AM, it remained on the air until 2005, broadcast out of studios in Towson and elsewhere. Kentrikon, a Baltimore institution, closed in September 2018.

Nitsa became an American citizen during the 1976 Bicentennial year. She was honored by the American Hellenic Initiative in November 2015 for her efforts on behalf of the Greek-American community in Baltimore. Nitsa chaired The Maryland Greek Independence Day Parade, which takes place in Baltimore’s historic Greektown, for many years and was honored and served as the Grand Marshall one year. The parade celebrates the anniversary of Greece’s independence from Ottoman rule in 1821 and showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Greek-American community in Maryland.

Nitsa was a bright light; she had a love of color, music, dancing and swimming. One of the criteria when she was house hunting in Parkville was a house with a swimming pool. In her free time, she enjoyed sitting by the pool, swimming and entertaining family and friends.

Many who knew Nitsa have shared their sympathy over the last few days with her family and their fond memories of visiting her at the Kentrikon to get the latest Greek music, buy items for religious events or to purchase tickets to Greece.

Nitsa is survived by her sister, Eva Fokianos and Niece Stephanie Kostopoulos -Reed, relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Stasa and brother-in-law Ted Kostopoulos, and brother-in-law, Pericles Fokianos.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 9 at 10:00AM in the Chapel of the Holy Resurrection in the Greek Orthodox Cemetery, 5917 Windsor Mill Rd, Baltimore, MD. Interment immediately following in the Greek Orthodox Cemetery, 5917 Windsor Mill Rd, Baltimore, MD

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Nitsa’s memory may be made to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, 25 W. Preston Street, Baltimore 21201; Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 520 Ponca Street, Baltimore 21224; or St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 2504 Cub Hill Road, Parkville 21234.