Christina Katrouzos, 97, of Grand Island, NE, died Monday, December 19, 2022, at the Norfolk Veterans Home. Funeral service will be Monday, December 26, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. with visitation from 10 a.m. until service time at Curran Funeral Chapel. The Rev. Alexander Lukashonok will officiate. Private family interment will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the Grand Island Historical Society. You are encouraged to sign Christina's guest book at www.curranfuneralchapel.com under her obituary. Curran Funeral Chapel is assisting the family. Christina Mitchell Katrouzos was born November 17, 1925 in Independence Missouri, to Angelo and Mary (Jianas) Mitchell. Her father anglicized their Greek family name of Michopoulos to Mitchell when he immigrated to the United States. Christina was the youngest of five children and the only girl. Her older brothers were Sam, George, Pete and Nick Mitchell. Christina graduated from William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri. Her parents, after coming to the United States from Greece, started a family business known as the Candy Jar. This is where she worked while in high school. The Candy Jar was located on the downtown square near the court house where President Harry Truman was Presiding Judge of Jackson County Missouri before becoming President and who became friends with Christina's father, Angelo. Christina's Uncle, George Jianas, also opened a candy company called the Green Mill Candy Company. That company has grown and changed ownership over many years but remained locally famous for its confections. As a young woman, Christina worked in the billing department of the Southwestern Bell telephone company in Kansas City. While working at the telephone company she participated in the company bowling league and developed a lifelong interest in the sport which continued when she moved to Grand Island. Christina married Gus Katrouzos on June 11, 1961 at the Greek Orthodox Church in Kansas City, Missouri on a hot, 105-degree day. She first met her future husband while attending a 1950 American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) conference in Wichita, Kansas. As a member of AHEPA, she became proficient in traditional Greek folk dancing, a skill she shared often. After moving to Grand Island, she became involved in her husband's family business, the Coney Island Lunch Room. Traditionally, the lunch room was the center of the family business and social life which had incorporated a workday which normally ran from 6 AM to 12 AM every day. Soon after, Christina convinced her new husband to adopt newer and shorter hours which would support time for their new and growing family. Christina carried a "business head" and competence, which her husband often relied upon. The family grew to include two children, Katherine and George. The children became part of the Coney Island and eventually George took over the business upon their parents' retirement. Christina learned how to cook when she was a young girl. Her Greek dishes which included chicken Kapama, stuffed cabbage rolls with avgolemono soup, Greek roasted lamb shoulder and spaghetti Greek style (browned butter and mizithra cheese) were constantly demanded by her family. As a direct descendent of an immigrant family and with a grandfather who was a Greek Orthodox priest, Christina carried with her strong influences of that traditional religious upbringing. She was known for her singing ability and served as a part of the choir in the Greek Orthodox Church, sometimes reciting traditional liturgy, known as Psalte to assist the Priest (Papas). On the home front, Friday evenings included blessing each room in their household with incense and prayers. Christina continued the tradition of reciting the Lord's Prayer in Greek before family meals. Additional survivors include her brother, Pete Mitchell, who turned 100 in May, of Warren, OH, several nieces, nephews, and cousins throughout the United States and Greece. Besides her parents, Christina is preceded in death by her brothers and their wives, Samuel (Pearl) Mitchell, George (Denisia "Nia") Mitchell, and Nick Mitchell, sisters-in-law, Pauline Katrouzos, Eleftheria (Liberty) Mitchell, brother-in-law, Sam Katrouzos, niece, Pamela Koumoutseas, and nephew, William "Bill" Mitchell. Visitation Curran Funeral Chapel Monday, December 26, 2022 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM 3005 South Locust Street Grand Island, Nebraska 68801 Funeral Service Curran Funeral Chapel Monday, December 26, 2022 11:00 AM 3005 South Locust Street Grand Island, Nebraska 68801 Graveside Service Grand Island City Cemetery Monday, May 8, 2023 10:30 AM 3168 West Stolley Park Rd Grand Island, NE 68801