Mary Stathos is the daughter of Greek immigrants. She was born in Sacramento on February 27, 1935. Her father Dan A. Fotos was born in 1891 in Greece in a small village in the West. He immigrated to the United States in 1909 and worked his way across the country to settle with his brothers in Sacramento. He worked building railroads and at one point opened a secondhand shop in San Francisco. In Sacramento he worked for a laundry and linen supply company, and eventually opened his own business. Eugene's mother, Zestrina Prongos, was born in 1910 in the village of Kyparissi. She immigrated to the United States, through Cuba, in 1931 to be married. With a family of six children, Zestrina did not work outside of the house. Growing up, Mary worked alongside her siblings at the family business. She married Tony Stathos at the age of 17 and later raised her family.
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