Gregoria "Greg" Chris Korologos Obituary (1934

Gregoria (Greg) Chris Korologos, 87, passed away in an Alexandria, Va. hospital on April 5, 2021 due to a blood disorder. She was born Feb. 25, 1934 to Chris T. and Irene Kolendrianos Korologos in Salt Lake City, Utah. After attending grade school classes at Oquirrh School near downtown Salt Lake City, she attended nightly Greek Grammar School classes at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and became fluent in Greek. During those years she was a prominent fixture at Greek School stage plays and enactments. Through those theatrical experiences she became gregarious and outgoing, always befriending people and putting them at ease with her sense of humor. She carried that trait throughout her life, much to the delight of her friends and associates. During those years she also developed a penchant for being strong-willed, a trait that served her well later in the highly competitive world of Washington D.C. Greg graduated from West High School in Salt Lake City in 1952 where she was active in numerous activities. Her professional career was exceptional, working with officials at all levels of the government. After graduation from high school, she was employed at the Salt Lake County Assessor’s Office until 1976 and at other positions in the area. She moved to Washington D.C. where she worked for John Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy when he was White House National Security Advisor to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Later she worked with Mr. Lehman at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, which found her travelling the world. That’s when she discovered London’s famous Harrod’s Department Store, much to the delight of credit card companies and those lucky enough to be on her gift lists. In 1977 she joined the staff of Rep. Dan Marriott (R-Utah) and from 1979 to 1992 she was office manager for Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah), where she hired many pages and interns who later held influential positions in the Washington D. C. political and advocacy scenes. When Sen. Garn became the first member of the U.S. Congress to fly in space in 1985, Greg attended the flight launch events at Cape Canaveral, Fl. A flood of NASA souvenirs to her friends followed. From 1992 to 1996 she worked for Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) and then for Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.) while he was a senator and later while he operated a government consulting firm. Greg retired in 2005 but came out of retirement when newly elected Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) asked her to organize his office using her administrative expertise on the operation of the U.S. Senate. She finally retired and volunteered for the Commonwealth Republican Women’s Club (Virginia) and the Greek Orthodox Church’s Philoptochos Society, which specializes in aid to the needy. An exceptional maker of Greek pastries, she worked with the Philoptochos Society and the Washington D.C. St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Church at fund-raising festivals. She was particularly proud of selling Greek religious icons at the festivals. With her deep roots in the Greek culture, her favorite place to visit was Greece, especially Tyros, birthplace of her father, where she and cousins talked for hours, exchanging recipes, reviving family episodes and tracing family roots. Greg was an avid Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals baseball fan, which led to more souvenirs for her mailing list. At Orioles’ games she had a front row seat behind the home team’s dugout which led her to become a big fan of baseball great Cal Ripken who periodically tossed her souvenir baseballs between innings. A hard-core Republican, she was thrilled to receive an invitation to a private tour of the White House during the last Christmas holiday season from where she sent family and friends photos of her admiring 39 Christmas trees on display there. As one could guess, her favorite restaurant in Washington D.C. was at the Trump Hotel. At one seating there with nephew, Jack Korologos, a student at Georgetown University at the time, she was greeted personally by Pres. Donald Trump, a gesture that further solidified her affection for the high-end eatery. In telling friends of the chance meeting with the President, she concluded her story saying: “He didn’t pick up the tab.” Greg gushed with happiness while experiencing her close relationships with her nieces and nephews – watching them thrive, going from tykes to youngsters to baseball and football players; and going from school plays to high profile actresses on network TV shows; from high school graduations to college and law school degrees; and through first dates to marriages to new families, to becoming grandparents. Greg is survived by her siblings Tom (Ann) of Washington D.C. and Basalt, Co.; Mike (the late Myrlene McAllister) and Elaine K. Guin (the late Baird), both of Salt Lake City, UT. Her nieces and nephews are Ann Bazzarone (Lee), Vienna, VA; Philip (Paloma), New York City; Paula Lisbe (Mike), Valley Village, CA; Chris M. (Shauna), and Tony M. (Alisanne), both Salt Lake City, UT. The viewing will be Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Neil O’Donnell and Sons Mortuary, 372 East First South, Salt Lake City, UT where Trisagion services will be held at 6:30 p.m. Throughout her life Greg maintained her affiliation with the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Salt Lake City, 279 So. 300 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Funeral services will be at that cathedral on Tuesday, April 13, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral or to the St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 2815 36th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20007. Interment will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City.