Maria Mihalopoulos, 96, of Brookline, MA and previously Nea Manolada, Ilia, Greece, died at home on Monday, January 28th surrounded by family. Born in 1922 in Sageika, Achaea, Greece, Maria Tsampas -- our YiaYia and 'Mana' -- survived the German and Italian occupation that claimed the life of her mother and then married her beloved Panos Mihalopoulos in 1947. They moved to nearby Nea Manolada where Maria worked as a seamstress and midwife, while Panos was a shoemaker. She immigrated to the United States with her husband in the early seventies and was followed soon after by her son, George, and daughter, Angela. In her more than four decades in Brookline, Maria loved and came to be adored by anybody fortunate enough to have known her. She took great joy in cooking, growing flowers and tomatoes, babysitting and raising her grand-kids, and sharing her renown hospitality with family, friends, and neighbors. The matriarch of the Mihalopoulos family was preceded in death by her husband, Panos, mother, Asimo, father, Konstantinos, and 5 beloved brothers and sisters. She is survived by her brother, Stavros, her son Aristotelis and wife Eleni, son George and wife Alice, and daughter Angela and husband Nick. Also by her grandchildren Panagiotis and wife Nancy, Maria and husband Dionysis, Amanda, Mary and husband Sam, Peter, Evdokia and fiancé Jeff, and Maria. She is also survived by one great-grandchild and another expected this summer, countless beloved nieces and nephews, a number of aides and nurses who helped provide her care over the years, and the dozens -- if not hundreds -- of neighbors, friends, and passersby whom she welcomed into her home for coffee and sweets. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Good Shepherd Community Care at gscommunitycare.org. Visiting hours will be held on Friday, February 1st from 5-8pm at the Faggas Funeral Home at 551 MtAuburn Street, Watertown, Mass. Relatives and friends kindly invited to attend. -