Anna Asiatidou Clift

Anna Asiatidou Clift's journey began on the 1st of October, 1949 the day she was born to Constantinos Asiatidis and Koula Portellou Asiatidou in Athens, Greece. Her father was of strong Pontian heritage born in the Asian Minor city of Trabzon, present day Turkey on the Black Sea. He was a partisan fighter for the Greek Resistance and liberating army of Greece during World War II. Her mother is from the Greek island of Ikaria and shared her giving nature and love of the island with her daughter. She was raised in the close company of her two brothers, Panagiotis and Athanasios. She was a loving matriarch for her husband Steven and her children Zoie and Dean. Anna was buried on her beloved Ikaria after her death on July 7, 2016 in the traditional Ikarian style she always desired. She spent her childhood summers on this agricultural island, milking goats and doing her various daily chores, while always enjoying the island with her grandparents, family and friends there. She remained close with those same friends in Greece, both on Ikaria and in Athens. As a child, she was a member of a traditional folk dance troupe that traveled with shows throughout Greece as well as Tunisia, even performing for both the King and Queen of Greece. Her connection to the United States and the world started through her employment with Olympic Airways as chief stewardess, with stories that included private flights with Aristotle and Jackie Kennedy Onassis and others. She met her husband Steven in a story many are familiar with, a flight to Egypt in June of 1973. Steven was backpacking between college and medical school and Anna was traveling on vacation with friends. Steven wrote her letters after returning to Arkansas and this correspondence, combined with her freshly learned English, soon evolved into a marriage that lasted 43 years. Anna came to Arkansas without initially knowing anyone there, but the community quickly became a home to her. Leaving her role with the airlines, she started out working in Little Rock at MM Cohn, taking the bus to work daily, in order to help support her husband and start her family. Her roots here allowed her to continue her extraordinary and adventurous life. In all the travels that she and her husband and children took around the world, she was always a proud ambassador for both the U.S. and Greece. She was a member of the Travelers' Century Club and The Explorers Club, visiting more than 100 countries across the world. Her favorite pilgrimages being to Bhutan and Ethiopia. During a 1992 expedition to the North Pole via the Sovetsky Soyuz icebreaker, she was reported to be the first Greek woman to set foot at 90 degrees North. She was a Divemaster, accomplished tennis player, a well-known gardener, skier, and tireless philanthropist. She brought her talents to form the Greek Folklore Dance Society in what would become a favorite at the yearly Greek Food Festival, an event she was instrumental in supporting since it started. She was the first woman President of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church and co-chair of the Centennial of the AGOC in 2013. Anna also served two terms as President of the Pulaski County Medical Society Auxiliary. She always gladly accepted committee responsibilities for community affairs for countless nonprofits, including Arkansas Children's Hospital, Heifer International, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. Her family and friends will never forget her dynamic smile, indomitable spirit, hospitality and kindness towards all. She died with no regrets and indeed left the world a much better place. All those who knew and loved her will carry forth her inspiring legacy. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church for the Anna Asiatidou Clift Memorial Fund. To honor Anna Clift, her family invites everyone to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at 1100 Napa Valley Drive, Little Rock, Arkansas this Saturday, July 23 at 6:30 p.m. for a service and reception. We shall meet inside the church to offer memorial prayers and then proceed into the Ballroom for a reception and celebration of Anna's life. May her memory be eternal.