Dina - In Her Memory

Dina - In Loving Memory
A Pictorial Celebration of Her Life
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Constantina "Dina" Voutiritsas
November 11, 1982 - November 18, 1993
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DINA
11/11/82 - 11/18/93
You could not walk too well,
So you watched.
You could not talk or write,
So you listened.
And there were so many things that
You just couldn't do.
Yet me, I can do all of these things;
Still you greeted the day with joy,
And a smile and amusement for
whatever it would bring,
And I'm somehow left feeling
That at 11 years old,
You had walked a little farther
Than me.
--By Patrick Wilson

Patrick's wife was a paraprofessional at Avondale East Elementary School
in Topeka, Kansas, where Dina was in the fifth grade.

A pictorial celebration of Dina's life
Written Easter 1998
by Grandma Marge Marshall
Edited 29-OCT-2020

Grandpa's Hands, November 1991

Dina was unable to stand unsupported, so a special walker was designed for her. In this photo, Grandpa Howard Marshall helped her get into place for the photo shown below, with her brother and cousins.

Grandpa joined Dina in heaven on December 8, 2012, and we know she ran to meet him, and he joyfully grabbed her into his arms.

. Click to see larger view	Left: Dina on her first birthday. Right: Dina, at 18 months, with her parents, Janet and Vasili, and her brother, Tasso, who was nearly 3. Dina was named after her grandmother (Yia-Yia) in Athens, Greece. [Dina is pronounced DEE-nah]
	Left: Dina plays happily in her bed at Winfield, Kansas, State Hospital and Training Center. She's almost 2 years old. Right: Grandma and Grandpa Marshall got to visit Dina several times a year. The staff made us feel welcome.
	Thanksgiving 1991, Dina's brother and cousins came to visit her. Clockwise: Dina, Kari, Jason, Jami, Halee, Tasso and Branin. Dina's cousin, Miranda, didn't get to be there, so at left is a photo of her, taken later.
Mother and children. Janet, Tasso and Dina	Brother and sister. Tasso, 11 and Dina, 10 1992	Dina couldn't talk, but she could smile!
When Dina was born with multiple birth defects, doctors said she would probably only live a year or two at most. But the skillful loving 24-hour care provided by the staff of the Training Center gave Dina a wonderful quality of life. They were her second family. She was a joy to them, as well as to us. Many of the staff members told Janet that they'd stop by Dina's unit to see her, because she cheered them up. Caring for severely disabled people is stressful, and Dina showed them it was worthwhile.	Sadly, it all came to an end when the decision was made to move the residents from the State Hospital Training Center into community facilities. Dina enjoyed being in school with other children her age. But she "fell through the cracks," and didn't receive the quality of care she'd had at Winfield. WSH&TC no longer exists; it was closed a couple of years after Dina passed away.	Dina's friend, Debbie, says goodbye as Dina leaves WSH&TC