Anne K (Kelly) Psillas

Anne K. Psillas
1928-2022

Our beloved Anne Elizabeth (Kelly) Psillas (Yia Yia) passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of her family, at Eatonton Health & Rehabilitation in Eatonton, GA on June 3rd, 2022.  She was 93 years old.  Anne was a beautifully warm, bright woman who lived her life outside of the box and was always well ahead of her time in music, dancing, fashion and culture. She once famously said with a laugh: "I've never been well behaved, and I don't intend to start now!"

Anne was born on October 20, 1928 in New Port Richey, Florida as the youngest of her 5 brothers and sisters after her family settled from Kentucky.  She was a graduate of Gulf High School Class of 1946, where she was unsurprisingly voted Most Popular in her senior class.  After graduation, she attended beauty school in Tampa, Florida along with her sister Kitty and ultimately went on to spend her long 52 year career in beauty salons as a talented hairdresser, as well as spending many summers in New York vacation resorts as a well-respected beautician.

Her first marriage gifted her with her beloved eldest daughter, Suzanne. In upstate New York, she met her second husband, Elmer Seiberg, with whom she had two more beautiful children: Beverly and Steven.  After Elmer’s passing in 1971, she met her third husband Chris Psillas while spending her time doing what she loved most: dancing and loving life in the small gulf coast Greek village of Tarpon Springs, Florida.  It was then that she earned the beloved title of “Yia Yia” from her grandchildren, whom she loved dearly with all of her heart.  In her later life, she lived with her son Steven’s family in Gordon, Georgia and attended Mount Pleasant Baptist Church where she was a committed prayer warrior for all and shared her strong faith with her community.

Anne was a sparklingly bright daughter, a loving and wise aunt and a friend to all who brought light to everyone she met. She appreciated the dancing trees of nature, had a wonderful green thumb and loved the many lucky cats and kittens that she owned and cared for over her many years of life. She always loved a good ice cream treat from Dairy Queen. There are endless beautiful memories of her spending vacations on cruises exploring the Caribbean, warming her skin on the sands of the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying live music, dancing, cooking and creating incredible food, collecting beautiful artwork and making the world a better place for being in it. She is loved and missed by all those who were lucky to call her their loved one.

As she once wrote in one of her many beautiful personalized birthday cards: “I wish you many more to come - live life to be old!  Smile!  Love, love, love!”

She is survived by her loving daughters, Beverly (Seiberg) Higgins and Mary Suzanne Russ; her devoted son, Steven Seiberg; her grandchildren, Julian Higgins, Aaron Higgins, Sean Seiberg and Stephanie (Seiberg) Shi; son and daughter in-law Bertie Higgins and Susan Seiberg; her great grandchild, Sadie Lynne Shi; as well as her beloved nephews and nieces, Mike Wick, Muriel Kelly, Russell Kelly, William Stone, David Kelly, Dennis Kelly, Pat Kelly, and Elizabeth Stone.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Green B. Kelly and Mary Sutton (Pryse) Kelly; her brothers Horace "Buck" Kelly and Rudolph Kelly; her sisters, Katherine “Kitty” (Kelly) Wick, Louise “Minnie” (Kelly) Stone Beckett; as well as her husbands Elmer P. Seiberg and Chris A. Psillas.
 

A celebration of life with her family is scheduled to happen this year in Tarpon Springs, Florida as well as at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Gordon, Georgia. Dates to be determined.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Suncoast Animal League of Palm Harbor, Humane Society of Pinellas, or SPCA of Tampa Bay.

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