Helen Koccoris | Oral History Archive | HHFGCA

Helen Koccoris

Interviewer(s):

Theo Xenophontos

Project:

Greek Canadian Stories

INTERVIEW LOCATION:

Markham, ON

LANGUAGE:

English

DATE:

January 20, 2026

Interview Summary:

Helen Koccoris was born in Nicosia, Cyprus in 1941. In 1956, she migrated to Canada with her family for monetary and political reasons. In 1969, she married her husband and through him became involved in the Greek community. He went on to become one of the founding members of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Scarborough. Helen’s interview also provides insight into the history of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. During the 1980s and 1990s, Helen was part of the Daughters of Penelope (Toronto chapter) and the Diocese & Philoptochos of Canada, serving as the President of both organizations for a period. In this interview, Helen details how the life stories of her and her husband intersect with many of the key moments of modern Greek and Cypriot history: her father-in-law’s participation in the Balkan Wars, her uncle’s migration to Cyprus in 1922 following the Asia Minor catastrophe, her husband’s memories of the German occupation during World War II, her brother-in-law’s involvement in the Greek Civil War, her family’s home being searched by the British during the early phase of the EOKA struggle, memories of the junta era and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, and taking part in protests surrounding the Macedonia naming dispute.

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Date and Location

January 20, 2026

Markham, ON

Interviewee(s)

Helen Koccoris

Interviewer(s)

Theo Xenophontos

Languages

English

Reference ID

GICREF139

Project

Greek Canadian Stories

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Categories

Associational Life

Canadian Society

Culture and Tradition

Education

Historical Events

Homeland Activism

Migration

Rites

Working Life

Tags

Decades Referenced

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Locations Referenced

Cyprus; Dhekelia (British base); Myrtou (Kyrenia District); Nicosia; Psimolofou (Nicosia District); Tseri (Nicosia District); Greece; Athens; Crete; Epirus; Macedonia; Rhodes; Thessaloniki; Olympia (immigration ship); Canada; Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Panagia); Belleville; Calgary; Crystal Fountain Banquet Hall; Eastown Restaurant (Eglinton Avenue); Forest Hill (Toronto); Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (London, Ontario); Loblaws head office (Lakeshore Avenue); London, Ontario; Norway Junior Public School (Toronto); Park Plaza Hotel (Toronto); Ottawa; Regina; Royal York Hotel (Toronto); Scarborough; Sir John A Macdonald Collegiate Institute (Scarborough); St. Catharines; St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church (Toronto); St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (Scarborough); St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (Scarborough); Steeles Avenue; Toronto; Vancouver; Turkey; Istanbul; Australia; Beirut; Egypt; Alexandria; Port Said; Skopje; the United Kingdom; the United States of America; New York City; Afghanistan; Russia;

Occupation(s)

School teacher for the TDSB, bank teller, and various odd jobs in her youth.

Parents Occupation(s)

Father: cabinet maker. Mother: lamp factory worker.

Names Referenced

Archbishop Iakovos; Archbishop Sotirios; Aristotle; Brian Mulroney; Constantine Koccoris (father-in-law); Father Tryfonopoulos; Jean Chrétien; Jim Athanasakos; Leonidas Polymenakos; Makarios III; Michalis Karaolis; Peter Koccoris (husband); Queen Elizabeth II; Tereas Stratas

[00:00:22] Early memories of Nicosia and of her parents

[00:02:10] Her parents support of Greece during World War II

[00:03:47] Schooling in colonial Cyprus (1940s and 1950s)

[00:07:56] Monetary and political reasons for leaving Cyprus

[00:09:22] Her assimilation into the Canadian culture

[00:10:46] The small number of Cypriots in Canada (1950s)

[00:12:46] Importance of TV news, newspapers, & the library

[00:14:19] How her parents viewed Cyprus' independence

[00:15:25] The Cypriot Brotherhood and AHEPA

[00:16:37] Interactions with Turkish Cypriots

[00:18:48] Her uncle who survived the Asia Minor catastrophe

[00:20:03] Discussing her marriage & her husband’s background

[00:24:12] Her working life

[00:26:18] Discussing the junta years

[00:28:25] Her inability to watch documentaries about 1974

[00:30:44] Memories of the EOKA struggle

[00:31:49] 1974 and reconnecting with Cyprus in old age

[00:35:53] Involvement with various Greek organizations

[00:40:02] Taking part in the Macedonia naming dispute

[00:41:48] Familial ties to Cyprus and Greek groups here

[00:43:20] Not distinguishing between Cypriots & Greeks

[00:47:34] Further discussion of the Macedonian issue

[00:50:13] Discussing the geopolitics of the Cyprus issue

[00:55:08] “But emotionally, I am Greek”

[00:56:00] The founding of St. Nicholas Church

[00:58:06] The founding of St. John the Baptist Church

[00:59:32] Photos of Archbishop Iakovos and Greek events

[01:03:30] Ephemera from her student’s version of Antigone

[01:05:03] Community plaques and photo with Jean Chrétien

[01:06:12] Her father-in-law’s service during the Balkan Wars

[01:07:48] Her brother-in-law’s role in the Greek Civil War

[01:09:05] Her husband’s memories of the German occupation

[01:10:33] Her husband’s migration to Canada in 1956

[01:11:21] More details about the Greek Civil War

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