Sophia Makris (Makris) Keefe

Sophia Makris Keefe, 83, was received by our Lord in the early morning hours on August 29, 2017 surrounded by her family. 

Sophia was born in Koutsopodi, Greece in 1934. She was the oldest child of Constantine and Katarina Makris. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, Sophia immigrated to the United States with her sister, Eleni and her parents and settled in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Although not able to speak English, she enrolled in public school and quickly excelled. After graduation in 1952 from Fayetteville High School, she was accepted into the prestigious Highsmith Nursing Program. Four years later, she graduated as a Registered Nurse and fulfilled one of her goals of working to help people through her education and training. She loved her new country and was very proud that she was able to come to a nation without knowing the language and achieve her RN accreditation in less than 10 years. This strength and determination were only matched by her compassion and kindness. In 1958, she met and married a young Army Officer from New England, John V. Keefe, Jr., and together they had three children, John, James (Jimmy) and Katherine (Kathy). Because of numerous deployments by her husband, Sophia focused full time on raising their children and ensuring that they received a good education and stable family life. Even during this time she found time to volunteer at her church, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox, the children’s school and military wives organizations. Upon her husband’s retirement in 1969, they opened The Trophy House and she went back to school and earned her bookkeeping certification to become the administrator for their startup business. Together, they were able to cultivate and grow their business through mutual respect, discipline and hard work. 

Sophia is preceded in death by her parents, Constantine and Katarina Makris, her husband, John V. Keefe, Jr. and her sister, Eleni. 

She is survived by her children, John C. Keefe and life partner, Cynthia, Jimmy Keefe and wife, Melanie and Katherine Jensen and husband, Jerry, all of Fayetteville; and her sister, Penny Makris of Boone. Sophia was blessed to have ten grandchildren, Jeremiah Jensen and wife, Stacey of Santee, S.C., Jillian Jez and husband, Frank of Rapid City, S. D., Kaitlin Pillsbury and husband, George of Centralia, Wash., Rebecca Kwasnick and husband, Bill of Southern Pines, Jack Keefe, Jake Jensen, Josh Jensen, James Jensen, Emily Sophia Keefe and Jonathan Keefe, all of Fayetteville. She was also fortunate to have two great grandchildren, Laney and Taylor.

The family would like to thank her long-time caregivers, Ms. Flossie Bass and Ms. Tina Crick for the love, care and respect that they showed Sophia over many years. 

A funeral service will be held at 11 am Friday, September 1, 2017 in Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church with burial to follow in Lafayette Memorial Park Cemetery. The family will receive friends Thursday, August 31, 2017 from 6 pm to 8 pm with the Trisagion at 7 pm at Sts. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donation be made to Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, in her memory

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