The acknowledged French artist, Marie Therese Marrel lived in the early 90’s in Thessaloniki, where she taught private painting lessons and exhibited her artworks. Marie Therese Marrel met Kaiti and painted her portrait. Marie Therese can still recall that first meeting, such was Kaiti’s effect on people:
MARREL: “Reading all these blessings from her closest friend / I can now recollect how lasting was her influence on me through that brief encounter we had: her presence, her elegance and grace, her intelligence, all stood out as she entered my atelier. All these attributes became my motivation for immortalizing her in paint.
I found her very beautiful, delicate, a real woman in all her essence. I adored her way of thinking, and her conversation was profound…. I believed that Kaiti and I could become bosom friends …»
“How much I wanted to become just like her…”
Χ. was Kaiti’s friend for about 30 years. As detailed below, X names just a few of Kaiti’s personal qualities that made her so special and shares with us all the feelings that Kaiti triggered in her.
Χ : “How much I wanted to become just like her…”
Kaiti was a close friend of mine.
She was cherished by everyone who met her. Partners, friends, everybody, even bank staff would rush to serve her as soon as she entered the building.
It’s worth mentioning that at Kaiti’s funeral, a common friend confessed the following: “If Kaiti wasn’t there for me, I would have been lost… Now that she passed away, I feel as if my husband has abandoned us. Now, I feel lost. This shows how important Kaiti was for me.
“She stood by my children…”‘
L. knew Kaiti almost all her life. She relates how Kaiti stood by her in one of the most difficult periods of her life, a time of great personal crisis.
L : it was 17th of December when my husband had a car accident and Kaiti with her husband Nikos came to my place to give me moral support. I also remember New Year’s Eve. She was there for my children too. I cannot forget how my little son didn’t want to eat his food and Kaiti had the inspiration to take him for a ride so that he would regain his appetite.
She was beautiful girl. A genial, intelligent, lively person, an excellent mother and an exemplary wife.
“She was my guardian Angel…”
T. met Kaiti for the first time when she was quite frail. They were very close and every time she refers to Kaiti, it is very difficult to hold back her tears.
T : When our eyes met –I saw that unforgettable beautiful sweet smile-. I went there just to be close to her, to take care of her. And she was so full of kindness.
She gazed at me with her beautiful eyes, full of kindness. A blessed woman of lofty spirit. She adored everyone. I vividly recall her words: “we must get better in order to help everyone, weak people, everyone who needs support and help”.
If you had ever met her as I had, you would say that she was an Angel. She encouraged everyone she knew and could face any adversity bravely. I have great admiration for her!
I have never heard this woman, this lady, utter: “I’m in pain”. She uncomplainingly suffered everything. She tackled every challenge with purity, goodness and grace. She displayed empathy to her fellow man. In other words, she was a true lad in every sense.
That woman was destined to be an Angel. For me, she was indeed my guardian Angel.
“It is better that I got ill than anyone else in my family …”
Η K has known Kaiti’s daily routine for almost 20 years! She shared with us her personal experience concerning her health and how much Kaiti stood by her side.
K : A true lady…
What enormous confidence and faith she possessed! She knew how to strike a balance, she never got involved in others’ business uninvited and she would always find a solution to every problem. We used to say that her house exuded always positive vibes…
When I was diagnosed with illness, she told me “I will be here for you”. She gave me a big hug and she told me not to worry. I can’t describe how important her presence was in my life, she was so supportive.
Regarding her own illness, Mrs Kaiti was always graceful and would often say, “Thank God, our family numbers 20 members and we are all healthy. We shouldn’t be ungrateful”. It is better that I got ill rather than anyone else in my family …”
She taught us all an important lesson: how to tackle challenges with perseverance and strength. Indeed, this was exactly how she fought her illness.
Do you believe that in the end she got scared?
No. she had a clarity of thought. She never got scared. Her feelings were clearly mirrored in her face. Even when someone displayed a bad intentions, when she smiled, all the negativity…magically disappeared.
I wish we could follow in her footsteps, even just a little bit. After all these years, when something troubles me, I bring her to mind, and though this seems unbelievable, she always gives me a helping hand.
“She felt blessed with her illness, because this was happening to her and not to another member of her family”
N met her in the twilight of her life, while she was suffering….
N: I’m very grateful to God for having met a special person like her. I benefited a lot from this experience and I grew as a human being and more particularly as a woman.
No one knew what she was going through. Usually, when we feel unbearable pain, we lose control, we panic, we yell, we break down Mrs Kaiti had no such reaction. We could only understand her pain by her heartbeat. She never complained about anything. People can only find out who you really are only when you suffer.
She felt blessed with her illness, because this was happening to her and not to another member of her family. We were there supposedly to cheer her up, but she was the one who encouraged us with her attitude or through just a simple glance.
She passed away as an Angel. Serenely. Just as if she fell asleep.
Although she underwent a distressful period, she was the person who gave me so much and I want to thank God for that. I owe her so much.
“I feel very lucky that I met such a woman”
Ο M. met her many years ago. The two married couples used to spend a wonderful time together, developing a real bond between them. We, our spouses included, had formed a close friendship. M’s description is the following:
M: In a nutshell, Kaiti was a lady in every sense. She was not in the least ostentatious, very humble, very discreet about how she expressed herself when talking about someone else. She was also a very likeable person, who, though taking care of her appearance, maintained a low profile. In short, she was a wonderful human being…
Being around her was an amazing experience: a tireless mother of five-children with a lively and demanding husband, she managed to keep any anxiety, sadness and pain she might have out of the picture. She was not somebody who praised her own abilities, she wasn’t arrogant or conceited, never referred to her courage in raising 5 children. She refrained from talking about her children’s achievements or how much they respected her or how she would protect them. She had outstanding self-control and she never wanted anything for herself.
I believe that I was really lucky to meet her.
“Kaiti was a gem of a person in this world”
K.Κ, Kaiti’s close friend, with tears from rolling down her cheek, talks about her friend’s personality.
K : I vividly recall the first time I saw Kaiti… A cheerful girl. Very quiet. I could describe her in one word: Tranquility radiated from her.
She was not made of stone. She was so humane. She was so kind, she couldn’t complain or grumble. She was always trying to find solutions to problems and had a way of simplifying things for a painless resolution to the problem.
She never showed off or flaunted about her wealth. She remained very humble.
She was a very giving considerate person. A smart woman who could find a solution to almost any problem. Calm, sweet, affable. She believed that nothing was insoluble. She never was never afraid. She wanted the best for her children and she was worried about her children’s health. She wished them to be lucky at in their personal lives, to care for each other and most importantly, to love each other. Kaiti was a jewel in this world.
“Kaiti was my unique bulwark ”
M. a very close friend of hers, can’t believe, even now, the loss of her dear friend…
M : it was Christmas Eve when she handed me a sum of money to give to my orphan nieces. Years later, she found a job for one of them. Both me and the children still feel grateful.
When my husband passed away, I couldn’t find happiness in anything and I wanted to quit my job. She became my motivation and my strength to keeping me active and standing on my feet. I really needed help and Kaiti was there for me. When later my sister got sick, Kaiti was next to me all the time and we tried not to leave her alone. That was indeed a magnificent act of love.
Όταν έφυγε η αδερφή μου, την Καίτη την έβλεπα πια ως το μοναδικό μου στήριγμα.
When my sister died, Kaiti was my only bulwark.
She knew who needed her and she gave her support unconditionally, freely. She had the awareness to understand where to intervene and who to help out.
Even though she was wealthy, she was down to earth, very sociable, befriending everyone, without showing who she really was… This made her (even) more adorable.
“She was far from being an ordinary person.”
Ε. delivers here an acute insight into Kaiti’s outstanding temperament through some timely remarks.
Ε : Her personality was based on intuition as she was profoundly insightful. She was far from being an ordinary person. She did not rely exclusively on the five senses, but she could perceive things at a more profound level.
She had the ability to look though people’s eyes and discern their truth, their honesty, but also their hypocrisy, being able to recognize deceit. She couldn’t tolerate people with malice in them or any gossiping disposition. Hidden hostility, wherever it lurked, thoroughly distressed her.
I must admit that many people took advantage of her. But she was aware of that and she wouldn’t show it for them not to feel bad.
She was childish in many ways. She was innocent, a woman of simplicity, respectful of religion. She believed in God ardently.
Whenever she was aware that someone had a negative impact on her, she would be truly kindhearted due to her benevolent nature. Caring, affectionate, thoughtful, generous, compassionate, discreet and giving. That’s the kind of person she was.