Kula Makris Kumpuris -- a founding member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church, a tireless community leader and devoted family matriarch -- died in her sleep Friday at her home in Little Rock. She was 98.
Kumpuris, who was born in Pine Bluff on Feb. 21, 1917, to Greek immigrants Annie Zack and George Andrew Makris‚ was known for her genuine love of people, said her son Dr. Dean Kumpuris, a Little Rock city director.
"She learned from an early age that you made friends by being nice," Dean Kumpuris said. "She was just a sweet, nice lady who really cared about people. She liked people. She liked being with people. She liked anything that had to do with friends and being a good friend."
And she believed in giving back.
Kula Kumpuris was an active member of the Junior League of Little Rock, the Little Rock Garden Club, the Boys and Girls Club of Little Rock and the Ada Thompson Home.
"She was a highly regarded, sustaining member of the Junior League of Little Rock and had quite an impact on the community, in particular, the women and children of Little Rock," said Marisha DiCarlo, president of the Junior League of Little Rock.
Kula Kumpuris and her husband, the late Dr. Frank Kumpuris, were also instrumental in the founding of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock in 1952.
"They were of Greek heritage living in the U.S. Their decision to join the Episcopal Church was so they could become a member of the larger community," Dean Kumpuris said, adding that his mother and father felt the church would help their children -- who also include Drew Kumpuris and Katherine Ann Trotter -- become more integrated into the community.
"Kula Kumpuris was a light at St. Mark's. A more gracious, kind and loyal presence cannot be imagined," said the Rev. Lisa Fry, associate rector at St. Mark's. "Both Kula and her late husband, Frank, were committed to the life of Christ here at St. Mark's, and their children carry on that tradition with their commitment, support and vision as we all help to build the kingdom of God in our world."
In 2006, the Kumpuris children established the Frank and Kula Kumpuris Lecture Distinguished Series at the University of Arkansas' Clinton School of Public Service. The lecture series has grown to include partnerships with the Clinton Foundation and AT&T.
In 2007, former President Bill Clinton was the first Kumpuris lecturer. There have been 19 Kumpuris lectures so far -- featuring speakers such as secretaries of state James Baker and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nobel Peace Prize recipients Wangari Maathai of Kenya and Leymah Gbowee of Liberia, and historian Michael Beschloss -- with the 20th scheduled this fall.
Kula Kumpuris attended the majority of them, said Skip Rutherford, dean of the Clinton School of Public Service.
"Mrs. Kumpuris' life was one full of grace and class," Rutherford said. "The Kumpuris lecture series, which bears her name, will forever enable Clinton School students and Arkansans to interact with the best nationally and internationally,"
Dean Kumpuris said his childhood was like the 1957-63 television series Leave it to Beaver.
"She was the perfect mother," he said. "She went to all my sister's recitals and our football games. If there was a passion or a program, she was there. We had dinner every night. We were always taken care of. There was never a question of if we were loved."
And she led by example, Dean Kumpuris said.
"The example was that you were nice to people, you worked hard and you went the extra mile in what you did," he said. "She taught us that the key to happiness was not anything on your back or your finger; it was in people and associations."
Dean Kumpuris said his mother kept a little book with everybody's address and birthdays, and was constantly calling just to say hello to someone.
"She did the little things that people just don't do anymore. She saw the good in everything," he said. "She taught us to see people as who they are; not in who you think they are. In her eyes, everybody was good unless you really proved the opposite. She believed in the simple pleasures of life: being with people and devoting herself to family."
Metro on 07/04/2015