Marika Polygalaktos

Marika (Ziakas) Polygalaktos, 95, died on August 31, 2025, surrounded by family and friends at her home in Apopka, Florida.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Konstantinos (Kostas), and her parents Ekaterini (Katina) and Theodoros Ziakas.

Marika was born on March 25, 1930, in Keramidi, a village in the northern Pelion region of Greece, and immigrated to the United States in 1956 with her husband, three-year-old daughter, sister, and parents. They settled in Detroit, Michigan, and with the help and support of family there, began their life in America. She and her sister were both employed at J. L. Hudson's department store in downtown Detroit, where Marika worked as a seamstress. Her twin sons were born in 1959, and two years later she, her husband, and young daughter became U.S. citizens.

In 1963, the family left Detroit for Central Florida, where her sister had moved after marrying Louis Logas. Marika continued her work as a seamstress at Jordan Marsh in the Colonial Mall in Orlando and then at Burdines in the Altamonte Springs Mall. Life in America had its share of ups and downs, but the Polygalaktos family made a good life for themselves here with many friends and a wonderful extended family.

Marika and her husband were founding members of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando, of which she was an active member. She was a devoted Orthodox Christian and worked tirelessly for the church as a choir member, a baker of Prosforon, and the Greek coffee Master at Greek Fest, among many other activities she devoted herself to with loving care.

Marika continued to follow events in Greece into her later years, and one of her daily joys was watching Greek serials on Greek TV with her daughter Toula, both scolding and sympathizing with the characters on screen. She also often liked to watch the church channel before going to bed where a group of monks would say prayers and chant. This was a great comfort to her.

Survivors include her three loving children, Demetra (Toula), Theodore (Ted), and Nicholas (Nick); her sister Alexandra (Sandy) Logas; her niece Jenny Logus (John) and son Dean; and nephew Philip Logas (Anne) and daughters Maria, Sophia, and Zoe. She will be remembered fondly and forever missed by her family, friends, and her beloved church community.

A funeral is scheduled for September 5, 2025, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando in Maitland, Florida, at 10:30 a.m. with the burial to follow at Highland Memory Gardens in Apopka, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations made in Marika's memory to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando.