Antonia (Toni) Paule Karres, 87, of Southern Pines, NC passed away on August 3rd, 2018 at St. Joseph of the Pines surrounded by her loving family. She was born on November 14, 1930 in Chicago, Illinois as the second of two daughters to Peter Zacharopoulos, an immigrant from Megalopolis, Greece, and Katherine Palivas, a second-generation Greek-American.
Toni graduated from Brenau Academy in Gainesville, Georgia and then graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois where she triple-majored in Speech, Communications, and English. Toni had a passion for foreign languages and travel, and upon graduation from DePaul she went to work at the Japanese Consulate in New York City. Subsequently, Toni worked for Radio Free Europe in Brussels, Belgium and New York City, supporting U.S. strategic objectives in the height of the Cold War. After meeting her husband Gus on a blind date at a UNC Tarheel football game, she continued her professional work in Chapel Hill in retail clothing sales and in healthcare services for UNC Physicians and Associates. Toni was an avid tennis player and a lifelong learner with a voracious appetite for reading. Toni was also a proud and committed grandmother, involving herself in all that her three grandsons did.
Toni is preceded in death by her husband Gus, her parents, and her sister Donna.
Toni is survived by her daughter Maria Karres-Williams and son-in-law John, her son Matt Karres and daughter-in-law Courtney, and her three grandsons Gus, Garrett, and Brodie.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday August 7th, from 6:30-8pm at Boles Funeral Home in Southern Pines, NC. Funeral services will be held at Boles in Southern Pines on Wednesday August 8th at 11am with internment following at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Southern Pines. In lieu of flowers, please donate in memory of Toni Karres to the Clara McLean House at First Health of the Carolinas. Clara’s House focuses on the needs of families with a loved one in FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital or FirstHealth Hospice. https://www.firsthealth.org/foundation-of-firsthealth/make-a-donation
Services are entrusted to Boles funeral Home of Southern Pines
To send flowers or a remembrance gift to the family of Antonia Paule Karres, please visit Boles’ Tribute Store.
Online condolences: BolesFuneralHome.com.
