Helen Caraviotis Rigopoulos

Helen Caraviotis Rigopoulos passed away gently at home on March 4th, 2019 due to complications related to Alzheimer's Disease and Stage 4 breast cancer - she was 80 years old. Born in New York City, Helen grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, the 3rd of 4 children of immigrant parents from Cyprus. Her family owned a grocery store, where Helen worked as a teenager. Her family is Greek Orthodox, and Helen was active in church and church-sponsored youth & teen organizations throughout her childhood. Helen was fluent in the Greek language. She graduated from Charles Evans Hughes High School in New York City. Helen attended NY Technical College, where she earned an Associates Degree in Medical Assisting. She worked as a Medical Assistant for doctors at Dartmouth College Medical School in Hanover, NH and at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, followed by 10 years in Customer Service at Talbot's Call Center in Knoxville, TN. Formerly married to the late Nicholas Rigopoulos for 20 years, whom Helen had known since early childhood, they raised 3 sons in Oak Ridge, TN - Stephan (Rye, NY), Christopher (Virginia) and Alexander (Gatlinburg, TN). Throughout her marriage and since divorcing in 1977, Helen was active as a volunteer in a variety of organizations, including Planned Parenthood, League of Women Voters, Friends of the Library and across various agencies throughout Knoxville during the last 20 years. Beyond volunteering, Helen enjoyed many hobbies and interests, including gourmet cooking, entertaining, decorating and enjoying social and cultural events. In addition to her three sons, Helen is survived by her sister Jane Metaxas (Great Neck, NY), brother George Caraviotis (Florida), her daughter-in-law and three grandsons (all of Virginia), as well as four nephews and one niece. Helen is predeceased by her parents John and Mary Caraviotis and sister Stacey Gedda (all formerly of New York City). Funeral arrangements are being handled by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel at 6200 Kingston Pike, Knoxville with a wake scheduled for Thursday, March 7, from 5:00 - 8:00 pm followed by another wake and Greek Orthodox funeral and burial in New York City. Memorials may be made in Helen's name to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, https://giving.mskcc.org/. Online memorials may be made at www.rosemortuary.com

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Helen Caraviotis Rigopoulos

March 4, 2019