Penelope "Penny" Ballas

Mrs. Penelope “Penny” Ballas, beloved wife of the late Charles N. Ballas, Sr., entered into rest on Friday, June 19, 2020, surrounded by her family at her bedside.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Monday, June 22, 2020, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church with the Rev. Vasile Bitere officiating. Burial will follow in Magnolia Cemetery.

Mrs. Ballas was originally from Somerville, Massachusetts. In 1946, she married Chuck Ballas, and they had three children. In 1954, they took a leap of faith and moved to Augusta, Georgia, to help Chuck’s father, Nicholas Ballas, with Luigi’s. Before the move, she had two requisites….a Greek Orthodox Church and good water. Augusta had both, and the rest is history. She worked tirelessly beside her husband as he ran the restaurant from 1954 to 1988. Up until entering the hospital on May 14th, she made all the Greek pastries and Greek appetizers for Luigi’s . She was a faithful parishioner at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church where she was chairman of Greek pastries for the Greek Festival for the last 20 years. Mrs. Ballas was a member of the Philoptochos Ladies Association at the church, and in 2009, she was awarded the Archangel Michael Honor Award for outstanding parishioner. She volunteered at Catholic Social Services and loved reading Nora Roberts novels. She will be remembered as a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and role model.

This quick story about Penny Ballas encapsulated her. Penny’s friend was complaining to her about her work and how it was tiresome and bothersome and too hard. Penny responded by saying, “I am not afraid of work; work is afraid of me.

She is survived by her children: Cynthia Ballas Moorehead (Dennis), Deborah Ballas Maxwell (Thomas) and Charles Nicholas Ballas Jr (Debi), a brother, Peter Orphanos (Patricia) and a sister, Kathryn Regules, as well as twelve grandchildren and thirty great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Mrs. Ballas really enjoyed spending time with her closest friends, whom she fondly named her “posse.” They are Amelia “Mia” Azar, Magda Aziz, Salwa Bohler, Nino Kvirkvelia, Rositsa Lawrence, Cyndy Ledbetter, Catherine Rongo and Julie Zivkovic, and they will be acting as pallbearers for the church service. Pallbearers at the graveside will be Christopher Szczotka, Scott Pohlman, Mark Campbell, Matt Stewart, Philip Kent and Wesley Latch, all grandsons-in-law. Honorary Pallbearers will be her 17 great-grandsons.

The family will receive friends at Platts Crawford Avenue Chapel on Sunday evening, June 21, 2020, from 5:00 until 7:00 with the Trisagion beginning at 7:00.

Due to Covid 19, daughter, Debbie Maxwell, and her family from New York, sister, Kathryne Regules, and her family from Ohio, brother, Peter Orphanos, and his family from Arizona and daughter-in-law, Debi Ballas, will not be able to attending the funeral. They plan to celebrate her life at a later date.

If so desired, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 953 Telfair Street, Augusta, Ga., 30901.