OBITUARY: Sophie K. Comas

Murfreesboro, TN- Sophie K. Comas, age of 100 and living in Murfreesboro, TN, died in her sleep on the morning of January 15. She was born in Bingham, UT on February 16, 1925 to Tom and Helen Kannes (Katsiganni), emigrants from the Argolis region of Greece. She was the second oldest of five, probably the most independent and, by her own accounts, a consternation to her mother. She adored her father, who called her “Sophia,” and she remained especially close to her sister Toula (“T”). Sophie graduated from East High School and, in 1948, married Nick J. Comas in Salt Lake City, where they built a home life; she gave birth in 1953 to her only child, James (Mitch). Sophie worked much of her adult life, most notably as an executive assistant for Kraft Foods until her retirement in 1990. After the death of her husband in 2006, she moved to Murfreesboro to be close to her son and his family.

Sophie’s relatives, friends, and acquaintances will remember her remarkable perseverance, her sometimes frank commitment to loved-ones, and her quick wit. Her perseverance-whether finishing a charity walk-a-thon in pouring rain or maintaining her own apartment until the end of her life-is a model for all. Her commitment to loved-ones extended to voicing uncomfortable yet beneficial truths. Her wit remained sharp to her final days: about to be transferred from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility on December 31, she texted her son, “I’m going out for New Year’s Eve!” All these qualities were tempered by a humility captured in a favorite phrase from the film “Lawrence of Arabia”: “It is written.” In later years, she enjoyed learning more about the long political history she had experienced, becoming an avid reader of political biography, histories of World War 2, and accounts of recent political events. Given her independent nature, it is fitting that, a few days before her death, she finished a book on the Declaration of Independence. She took great joy in cooking for her family, including serving her celebratory “7-and-7.” She also loved spending time with her friend Danuta Kopieniak, who called her “Sophia” and taught her words in Polish.

Having lived over 100 years, Sophie saw the deaths of most of her close relatives: her husband, Nick; her four siblings and their spouses, Mary Diamant (Alke), Deno Kannes, JoAnne Peterson (Merrill “Pete”), and Toula Leventis (Mike); her sister-in-law Becky Kithas (Pete), brother-in-law Pete Comas (Donna); and her niece Stacy Leventis. She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Dr. James N. Comas and Anna M. Ragland of Bell Buckle, TN; two grandchildren, Dr. Brian D. Hudson (and Andrea) of Columbia, MO and Nicholas R. Comas of Bell Buckle; three great grandchildren, Rylee Bohr, Emma Sophia Hudson, and Kayleigh Hudson; and three great-great grandchildren, Luke, Asher, and Gracelynn Bohr. She is survived also by her godson Tom Peterson, her sister-in-law Jo Ann Juliano, and numerous nieces and nephews and their families, three of whom became “daughters”: Michelle Davis, Joni Leventis, and Georgette Leventis.

Independent to the end, “Sophia” (the Greek word for “wisdom”) requested no funeral or other formal observances. “ê psykhês aretê, sophía” (“the virtue of the soul-wisdom”).