Evyenia Lula Triandafilidis

Evyenia Lula Triandafilidis, (Dr. T) Born Saturday, May 4, 1929 passed away peacefully in her sleep Wednesday, May 8, 2019. Lula was preceded in death by her parents, Stefanos Andrea Prodromidou and Anti Terzioglu-Prodromidou. Also preceding her in death was her husband and soulmate, Dr. George E Triandafilidis, a retired professor at the University of New Mexico. They were married for 42 years when he passed away on Sunday, April 2, 2000.

She is survived by her two sons, John A Triandafilidis and Stephen E Triandafilidis.



Lula immigrated to the USA from Istanbul, Turkey in the late 1950’s where she joined her husband in Champaign, IL, and her two sons were later born there.

A highly educated woman, who was fluent in six languages, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Robert College in Istanbul, Turkey. While tirelessly raising her sons and teaching French at Highland High School in Albuquerque, she pursued and earned her master’s degree and her Ph.D. in languages at UNM. Over the years, many of Lula’s students stayed in touch with her sharing their stories about how much she touched their lives.



Lula was a generous philanthropist both with her resources and her time. She established a fund for holiday projects to care for the children at Dolores Gonzales Elementary and Lew Wallace Elementary. During the holiday season, she made sure each child had educational and huggable gifts as well as providing hundreds of coats to underprivileged children. Lula had a special place in her heart for animals of all kinds, especially her many pets, penguins and Lord Majestic, a stray cat. She loved her cockatoo, Koukla, and took extra care of the birds around her home. She was a docent at the Rio Grande Zoo for 30 years.



She had many friends from Champaign, IL, Las Vegas, NV, Houston, TX, Phoenix, AZ, San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA, Albuquerque, NM, and many friends overseas. Lula was truly loved by her family and friends. She enjoyed her Crown Royal and had many memorable casino adventures. She was very active and loved working out at the gym.



For many years Lula was an active member of St. George Greek Orthodox Church and loved her church community. Additionally, she belonged to Philoptochos Society and was a lifetime member of the Daughters of Penelope within the Church.

Lula was an extremely tough woman whose memory will live on in the hearts of her loved ones and she will be sincerely missed by all who had the honor of knowing her.



In lieu of flowers please donate to her favorite charity. Checks should be made payable to The Bio Park Society with notation for Dolores Gonzales Elementary School Christmas Project. Please mail donations to S&J Enterprises, 3535 Princeton Drive NE, Albuquerque, NM 87107.



Trisagion for Lula will be held on Monday, May 13, 2019, 4:00 p.m. at FRENCH-University with visitation one hour prior. Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, 11:00 a.m. at St. George Greek Orthodox Church 308 High St SE.