December 25, 2012

Angelina Kehayas Pratt Ellis, 95 years old, peacefully passed away on Christmas Day 2012 in the afternoon in Rocky Mount, N.C. Angelina was born April 3, 1917, in Lynchburg, Va. As a child, she lived in Franklin, Va., where her father was a restaurateur. She graduated from Franklin High School in 1933 and attended Norfolk Business College. She was married to Harrell Ryland Pratt, of Suffolk, Va., in the Greek Orthodox Church in Norfolk, Va., in 1940 until his death in 1976. She was married to William Charles Ellis, of Norfolk, in 1980 until his death in 1993. She is also preceded in death by her father, Michael Antonio Kehayas, her mother, Sylvia Kehayas Kehayas, both of Palamut in eastern Thrace, Greece, and her brother, Antonio Michael Kehayas, formerly of Norfolk. Angelina strived to maintain a close relationship with all those who were connected to her parents and their friends throughout her life.

Angelina is survived by her sons, Michael Joseph Pratt and his wife, Barbara Denning Pratt, of Rocky Mount, N.C., and Harrell Ernest Pratt, of Emporia, Va.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Angelina’s vocational interest was in her passionate love for history, antiques and restaurant ownership. She was sole proprietor of Castle Inn in Suffolk until the late 1970s, and later opened Hallmark Antiques in the Ghent area of Norfolk, which she adored, greatly missed and spoke of often. She was a founding member and past president of the Nansemond Suffolk Historical Society. She valued her life-long friendships in the Tidewater area and strived throughout her life to maintain these close relationships.

She moved to Rocky Mount in 2007 and quickly made special friends who meant a great deal to her during her final years and who are greatly appreciated by the family.

Angelina was baptized and raised in the Greek Orthodox Church and was proud of her Greek heritage. As an adult, she was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Suffolk and then a devoted member of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Norfolk.

A memorial service will be held in Norfolk at St. Paul’s Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, at 1 p.m.

As one life-long friend stated, “She was an original, a woman of great character and great faith, and somehow knowing her made me a better person.”

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to the charity of your choice.

Arrangements are entrusted to Wheeler and Woodlief Funeral Home, 1130 N. Winstead Ave., Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.

“God bless us all, now and into eternity.”