Aphrodite Drelles
August 2, 1927 - October 12, 2007

Aphrodite Dottie Drelles was a woman of such powerful love, a love for life, a love for her heritage, and most of all, a love for her family. As a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and a friend to so many, Dottie would do anything for her loved ones. Like the Greek goddess for whom she was named, Dottie was a woman of great passion, great beauty, and greater love, a love that lives on in all who knew her.

Dotties story began on a summer day in 1927, in Muskegon. Those were exciting times in this country, the twilight of the Roaring 20s, when Prohibition was the law of the land, and Big Band music provided the rhythmic pulse for a generation. On August 2, 1927, Samuel and Anastasia (Angelopoulos) Danigelis celebrated the birth of a beautiful baby girl, a daughter they named for the goddess of love, Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was the second of the Greek-immigrant couples four children. She had an older brother George, a younger sister Christine and a younger brother Alex. Her hardworking father owned and operated the Corner Food Market in Muskegon, on the corner of Terrace and Walton. The family lived in a home only a few blocks from the store.

The family was very proud of its Greek heritage, and they spoke only Greek in their home. When Aphrodite started kindergarten, however, she became more Americanized, starting with her name, which her teacher changed to just Dottie. The name stuck, and Dottie fell in love with school, especially reading.

Dottie grew up working in her familys store alongside her brothers and sister. The familys social life revolved around the Greek community and their church in Muskegon. When Dottie was 18, the family was dealt a heavy blow with the sudden death of her father. Dottie and sister Christine rose to the occasion and kept the store going, despite their young age. Younger brother Alex helped out after school. The children also watched over their mother since she spoke very little English. After brother George returned home from serving in World War II, he went back to work at the store as well.

However, another returning soldier made a bigger impact on Dotties life. Andrew Hank Drelles had grown up next door to Dottie, who was four years younger. When he returned from the service, Hank quickly noticed that Dottie had grown up while he was away and become a beautiful young woman with long, curly dark hair.

The two began dating, though their dates were always closely chaperoned by Dotties mom! Eventually, they were married on October 10, 1948 in a huge wedding at St. Pauls Episcopal Church, as the Greek Orthodox Church wasnt built at the time. A huge reception followed at the Fruitport Pavilion.

The newlyweds moved into a little house on Mona Lake, and it wasnt long before the bride and groom became a mother and father too. Dottie and Hank welcomed their son Andy in 1950, daughter Annette in 1953, and their son Sam in 1956. Sam was born only a few weeks after the family moved to their beautiful new home in Beechwood near Lake Michigan.

In 1962, Dotties sister Christine and her family also moved to Beechwood, building a house only two lots away. Dottie, Christine and brother George continued to run the Corner Food Market. The sisters were truly a team effort in everything they did. They took shifts between work and home. Whichever sister worked the evening shift would pile all the kids into the car and bring them to Corner Food. Then the other sister would bring the kids home, feed them dinner and watch over them for the evening.

The families grew up together, with the older kids babysitting the younger ones and helping in the store as well. In later years, they also vacationed together. Dotties family rented a cabin on Glen Lake in Leelanau County every summer starting in the mid sixties. Christines family even came up to visit a few times.

Around 1971, urban renewal resulted in the demolition of the Corner Food Market, and the business relocated a short distance away on Apple Avenue. The store was renamed Community Food & Beverage. While Dottie had the grocery store, Hank spent his working life in the restaurant business with his father and brothers. They operated the Drelles Restaurant, the Drelles Sandwich Shop, and finally Tohado House. While Hank retired in 1978, Dottie continued working for another 16 years.

However, after the kids graduated from college and struck out on their own, Dottie and Hank began to do some traveling, visiting Greece, Jamaica, and several other places. In the early 1990s they sold their home in Beechwood and bought a condo in Norton Shores.

In 1994, the Community Food property was sold to Baker College. The building was demolished, and Dottie, Christine and George closed up shop for good, taking a much-deserved retirement. Dottie became much more active in the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, singing in the choir and attending faithfully. She also found more time to spend with her family.

Her children and grandchildren all lived out of town, so Dottie expressed her motherly instinct through the many care packages she sent them, filled with goodies and magazine and newspaper clippings. She always expressed unconditional love and moral support for her children.

Dottie was an avid reader of everything from novels and magazines to the Muskegon Chronicle, which she read from the first page to the last almost every day.

In 2000, Dottie took a very memorable girls trip to Greece with her daughter Annette and sister Christine and her daughters. It was a very special experience for all of them.

Recently Dotties and Hanks health began to gradually decline, and in early September they moved to an assisted living facility. On October 10, 2007, the day of their 59th wedding anniversary, Dottie suffered a stroke. Sadly, she never recovered, and died on Friday, October 12, 2007, at the age of 80.

Dottie was such a beautiful, vibrant and loving woman. She lived a wonderful life, a life filled with family, faith and fond memories. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend, but most of all, she was a woman who made the world more beautiful just by being in it. She will be so greatly missed.

She is survived by her husband, Andrew "Hank" Drelles; 2 sons, Andrew Drelles of Mt. Kisco, NY & Sam (Linda) Drelles of Traverse City; 1 daughter, Annette (Jim) Inouye of Del Mar, CA; 6 grandchildren; Theodora "Teddy", Nikolas "Jinji", Brandon, Meagan, Sarah & Derek; 1 sister, Christine Encelewski of Muskegon; 2 brothers, George Danigelis of North Muskegon & Alex (Thelma) Danigelis of Caledonia; many nieces and nephews.

Services are Wednesday, October 17, 2007, 11:00 AM at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church with Fr. Rafael Daly officiating. Interment will be at Oakwood Cemetery.

Visitation is Tuesday, 2-4 & 6-8 PM at Clock Life Story Funeral Home. MEMORIAL: Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com to leave a memory or sign the online guest book.

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