Anna Mantei Simotas was born in Portland, Oregon, where she lived with her parents and younger brother. Anna’s mother was born in a village near Kavala in northern Greece, and her father was born in North Dakota. Anna’s maternal grandparents were Pontic Greeks from Asia Minor, near the Black Sea. In 1923, because of the persecution of the Christians, all the Greeks who survived were forced to resettle in mainland Greece.
Anna’s mother and father met in Kavala, Greece, and were married there shortly after. Anna’s mom did not know a word of English, so Anna’s first language was Greek. Anna’s Yiayia (grandmother) came from Greece when Anna was 6 years old to stay with the family for about 1 1/2 years. Anna remembers the traditional Greek dishes that Yiayia would make with her mom, and the mornings spent planting and taking care of the garden. They’d go out to water and pick out what they were going to cook for dinner. Anna was always fascinated by the open, pretty zucchini blossoms they’d pick and stuff with rice and herbs. Anna started cooking at a young age by watching and helping her mom and Yiayia. Anna’s dad would say, “I can’t pronounce it, but my daughter knows how to make it.”
Anna graduated from David Douglas High School, and her favorite classes were cooking and sewing in Home Economics. She continued her studies in sewing and fashion design in college, but found another passion: becoming a skincare aesthetician and makeup artist, working in this field for about 12 years. Currently, Anna is working as an Aerospace Digital Evaluator in X-ray and has been with the company for 25 years.
Anna met her husband in 1995 when he came from Greece to visit his sister in Portland. They hit it off and were married in Portland in 1996. A month later, Anna moved to Greece to begin her new life in Athens with her husband. The following year, in 1997, a couple of months before her due date, Anna gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. When Anna and her husband separated a few years later, she returned to Portland so her mother could help with raising the twins. She was such a kind, loving, and unselfish mother and grandmother, and Anna feels she could not have accomplished and done all that she has had it not been for her mother.
Sadly, Anna’s mom died in 2014, right before she could see her granddaughter become a 2015 Rose Festival Princess. Anna’s mother greatly influenced her grandchildren, and Anna is so proud of how her son and daughter both continue to enjoy cooking the Greek traditional dishes and keeping the culture and their grandmother’s memory alive. In 2025, Anna welcomed her first grandchild, beginning one of the most cherished chapters of her life. Becoming a Yiayia has filled her heart with joy as she continues sharing the love, traditions, and values that have always been at the center of her family.
ABOUT M.O.M. 
