By Cary Shuman
Debbi Rodman Tsekrekas, a cousin through marriage to her husband, said lovingly, “Ginny was like my sister, and she was an aunt to my children. She is a cousin, but for me, she was much more than that, and to my kids.”
Tsekrekas said her friendship with Ginny dates back 14 years. She recounted a beautiful story about their first meeting.
“Fourteen years ago, almost to the day that she passed, I met her for the first time at the Greek Independence Day Parade in Boston,” recalled Debbi. “I had just lost my own mother. Ginny said to me, “when one door closes, another opens.”
“At that moment, I didn’t realize that I was about to gain a sister, and my kids were about to gain an aunt,” recalled Debbi. “Over the years, Ginny did everything with us. She came to all my kids’ ballet recitals, dance competitions, basketball games, and we spent every holiday together and took trips together. We were very, very close.”
Ginny’s kind-heartedness struck a chord of love and built a bond of togetherness with the Tsekrekas family.
“Ginny was an amazing person for so many reasons, but one of the things that really stands out for me is she really had the ability to make friends with anybody. It didn’t matter what your age was, what your profession was, or where you came from. Ginny was able to form very meaningful deep connections with many, many different people from many walks of life.”
Debbi said that Ginny was very brave in her fight against cancer over the past several years.
“But it didn’t stop her,” said Debbi. “My kids are currently 12, 14, and 16, and she has been there for every birthday, every achievement, every school play – she was there. My kids are having a difficult time because Ginny was such a fixture in our family.”
Debbi said Ginny’s numerous friends offered love and support during her health battles.
“Ginny had an army of loved ones, friends that just were by her side during her all of her medical issues,” related Debbi. “And even her own doctors became her friends. They stood in that army with her. It sounds cheesy to say, but it’s the truth.”
Debbi noted, “ironically Ginny Diranian passed away on Greek Independence Day, March 25.”
“I’m not Greek but my husband is and as I’ve learned, Ginny loved her Greek and Armenian heritage. It was not lost on me that on this day, the country [Greece] that she loves so much was free, and she also was free on that day as well – free of all her pain and suffering that she had for so many years. March 25 is also her mother’s [Evelyn] Greek name day, which is like a birthday. I started thinking about how interesting that is – this was her mother’s Greek name day, and on this day, Ginny really gave her mother a gift. She was back with her. They were very, very close. It was interesting that on that day, Ginny chose to leave us.”
Debbi said in the last conversation she had with Ginny at the hospital, she told her, “Tomorrow is the day that you and I met 14 years ago. I said, isn’t that crazy? A half an hour later, at 12:20 a.m. on March 25, she passed.”
“For so many reasons, Ginny was an amazing person, just a joy to be around, and she had a huge heart for everybody,” concluded Debbi Rodman Tsekrekas.