Stella “Billie” Angelos

Stella “Billie” Angelos Mother of St. D’s

The daughter of Greek immigrants, Billie Malandrakis, was born and raised in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Billie joined the Navy a few months before her eighteenth birthday and was sent to Hunter College in New York for training. She possessed an eagerness to serve her country and did so during World War II as a WAVE operating room nurse at Bethesda Maryland Naval Hospital.

After her discharge, Billie relocated to Philadelphia to study at the Franklin School of Science and Arts. While in Philadelphia she met Ernie Angelos. Their first date was at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in West Philadelphia. A year later they married.

Billie was actively involved in the building of the new St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on Powell Lane in Upper Darby. She served as President of the Ladies Auxiliary and was instrumental in getting the charter to become a Philoptochos, thereafter serving as its President for ten years. She served on the Metropolis of New Jersey Philoptochos Board. Her compassion for her community was evident by the countless hours she devoted in the late 1960s and early 1970s to helping immigrants coming from Greece. She found them homes, furniture, jobs, enrolled their children in school, and a coordinated doctor and hospital appointments for the sick.

Billie enjoyed her time as a Youth Advisor and Basketball Coach for the St. Demetrios GOYA and worked enthusiastically as a member of the Youth Commission for more than one generation.

People often called her the Mother of St. D’s. Submitted by Betsy Kavadias, Billie’s daughter.