Sophia Fuhrmeister Obituary (1935 - 2024)

Sophia Fuhrmeister joined the angels on June 19, 2024, surrounded by her family and held in their love. She was born Sophia Bilson on March 21, 1935, in Detroit, Michigan as the youngest of five children of Greek immigrant parents. Sophia grew up working in her father’s restaurant and reveled in her Greek heritage, especially family gatherings and celebrations with Greek food, music, and dancing. After her two sisters moved to Manhattan Beach, California, Sophia and her best friend Joanne moved across the country to join them there in 1959. On the day she and Joanne moved into their apartment, a charming gentleman named Bill Fuhrmeister knocked on their door to welcome them to the neighborhood. Bill offered to help them get settled and invited Sophia and her friend to join him and his roommate for a cocktail party that evening. After accepting Bill’s invitation and closing her apartment door, Joanne commented to Sophia, “I have the strongest feeling that you’re going to marry that man.” Sophia replied, “I do too!” After a one-year courtship, Sophia and Bill married at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles. Within a year, they were blessed with the birth of their first daughter, Katherine Louise Fuhrmeister. A few years later, on Sophia’s birthday, she gave birth to her second daughter, Patricia Laura Fuhrmeister. Family was always central to Sophia’s life and she and Bill were blessed to welcome two grandchildren -- Krista Hope Keller and Kenneth William Littlefield – as well as their spouses – Kirk Keller and Jessica Littlefield – along with five great-grandchildren – Klein Keller, Kamden Keller, Liam Littlefield, Kerrington Keller, and Caroline Littlefield. Her daughter Katherine’s husband, Donald Ray Littlefield, became the son she never had. Sophia was a devoted and loving friend and frequently visited her friends as they aged and developed health issues. When her dear friend, Ruth, developed Alzheimer’s and was moved to a memory care facility, Sophia visited her several times a week and also visited other residents there who didn’t have family or friends. Sophia later developed Alzheimer’s herself and although her short-term memory declined, she loved reliving special moments from her younger days. Even during Sophia’s final days, she lit up whenever her family and beloved nurse, Caroline, played her favorite music by Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett. In spite of her Alzheimer’s, Sophia never lost her uncanny ability to play the highest-scoring words during the family’s spirited weekly Scrabble games. Sophia and Bill enjoyed a marriage spanning 64 years, two children, two grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a small yet very close group of loving friends. She will be greatly missed, but her generous and kind spirit will live on in the lives of those she touched. Sophia spent her final days receiving loving and compassionate care at the T Boone Pickens Center for Hospice Care. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Faith Caring Fund at Forefront Living Foundation, to ensure other hospice patients and their families can receive loving care in a peaceful environment. www.forefrontliving.org