Penelope Dellaporta
May 19, 1928-Jan. 16, 2023
Atherton, CA

Born and raised in London, England, to Dorothy and Platon Metaxas, Penelope and her beloved younger sister Sylvia were encouraged to love all the arts. They danced, sang, painted, and wrote poetry. In the early years of WWII, they left London, and sailed with their mother to New York City, where they acted as “war correspondents” on the radio, reading letters written by British children in the US to their parents back home.

Upon returning to England, Penelope attended Roedean School and later studied speech and drama at the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded the Howard de Walden Gold Medal for her skill on stage. She spent summers on the Ionian island of Kefalonia, visiting her beloved aunties and immersing herself in Greek culture and language. It was there she met her future husband, Angelos Dellaporta, an eye surgeon and a Kefalonian native. They married in 1954, and moved to the Bay Area, where they raised their four children. Penelope and Angelos were longtime members of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in San Francisco. They made lifelong friends at the church and Penelope became a dedicated volunteer for Philoptochos, the women’s philanthropic committee.

Penelope (or Penny, to her friends and family) was a devoted mother, an amazing chef, a charming hostess, a loving grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt and wife, a dedicated volunteer for Recording for the Blind, and a talented vocal actress who recorded for Books on Tape and could flawlessly mimic any accent. She was strong and brave and brilliant, but above all she was kind.

Penelope is survived, and will always be loved and remembered, by her children Angela (John) and her daughter Alexandra (Jason); Marina and her children Michael and Jessica; Elizabeth (Mark) and their children Sarah and Andrew; Nick (Lynn) and their son Matthew; and her nieces and nephews in Texas and in England. She will be remembered with great love by her many friends, most especially her dear and devoted friend Patricia.

We would like to thank our mother’s caregivers and the staff at Gordon Manor and Curae for the excellent care and the steadfast companionship they provided.