Paraskevou Phyrillas, who carried her Cypriot roots into a life of family, work, and parish service in Reading, died peacefully on May 5, 2026, surrounded by her family at Reading Hospital in West Reading. She was 85.
She was born on November 23, 1940, in Engomi, Famagusta, Cyprus, one of five children of Loizos and Eleni Kyriakos. On October 23, 1960, she married Anastasis Phyrillas in Cyprus. In 1969, the family immigrated to the United States, settling first in Reading before moving to Exeter Township in 1979.
Paraskevou’s life was centered around family, work, church, and the customs that remained close to her after leaving Cyprus. Though she was primarily a homemaker, she also worked for several years at the Letisse handbag factory in Reading. At home, she found joy in baking, gardening, cooking shows, and the everyday rhythm of caring for her children and grandchildren.
Her connection to Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church was deep and lasting. She was a longtime member of the Saint Xenia Philoptochos Society and was honored by the church as Mother of the Year in 2015.
For decades, she volunteered in the loukoumades room at the church’s Greek Food Bazaar, helping prepare the loukoumades that generations of parishioners and visitors came to associate with the annual bazaar. She was also among the women who baked prosphora, the bread used each Sunday during the Divine Liturgy.
Paraskevou is survived by her three sons, Tony A. Phyrillas and his wife, Soula, of Mount Penn, Spiro A. Phyrillas and his wife, Margaret, of Exeter Township, and Louis A. Phyrillas and his wife, Andrea, of Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She is also survived by her grandchildren, James, Maria, Anastasis and his wife, Angelique, Vasilis, Ted, Marina, and Angelene, as well as her brother, Haralambos Kyriakos, and her sisters, Kyriakou Kyprianou and Maria Loizou, all in Cyprus.
She was predeceased by her husband, Anastasis, her brother, Onouphros Kyriakos, and her grandson, Patrick A. Phyrillas.
Funeral services will be held at noon on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 1001 East Wyomissing Boulevard, Reading, Pennsylvania. A viewing will take place at the church from 11:00 a.m. until the start of the service. Burial will follow at Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Paraskevou’s memory to Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church.