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Well-known Willow Glen restaurateur Roula Tsagaris, who for seven years owned and operated Tina's Restaurant at the Willow Glen Plaza shopping center at the intersection of Almaden Road and Curtner avenues, died Sept. 18 of non-Hodgkins disease. She was 44.
"She made friends so easily," said Kathy Thrappas, Tsagaris' first cousin. "She touched these people, giving them advice."
Thrappas said that Tsagaris' friendliness often extended to Greek chatrooms on the Internet, where she would help strangers. Thrappas said Tsagaris once arranged for medical care to be given to a paralyzed man in Greece by raising the money to bring him to the United States.
Tsagaris was born in Crete, Greece in 1957, the only daughter of Michael and Mary Somatopoulas. They moved to the United States in 1968. Roula graduated from Willow Glen High School in 1975 and married George Tsagaris in 1985. The husband-and-wife business partnership specialized in the restaurant business, beginning with the Yiassou eatery on Bascom Avenue. Later they opened the Paradise Café in Santa Clara, and then opened Tina's Restaurant in 1995, naming it after their daughter. The marriage ultimately ended, but the partnership continued.
Tsagaris devloped lymphatic cancer in May and was later hospitalized.
Thrappas said Tsagaris had several visitors and remained optimistic.
"First she was in denial, but she did fight," Thrappas said. "She did believe she could fight and win."
Thrappas said that Tsagaris was among loved ones when she passed away.
"She maintained a level that was consistent the day before," Thrappas said, "but on Sept. 18 her condition just changed. We were there with her—her uncle, four cousins and a friend."
George Tsagaris said that Tina's patrons "have been upset and are very supportive."
"She was a very good person. Everyone loved her, and we miss her very much," he said.
Thrappas said that Mary and Michael Somatopoulos want for everyone to know that Tsagaris was " a wonderful daughter."
Tina and Michael, Tsagaris' children, told the San Jose Mercury News in a Sept. 30 story that their mother was "the most beautiful, loving, caring mom in the world."
Thrappas said Tsagaris' friendliness touched many people. "She had the most beautiful smile," Thrappas said. "That's what will be missed the most—that incredible smile."
She is survived by her ex-husband, George Tsagaris, of San Jose; her children, Tina and Michael, of San Jose; and her parents, Mary and Michael Somatopoulas, also of San Jose.
Services have been held.
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Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer