Well-known Greek philanthropist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Marianna Vardinogiannis passed away on Monday at the age of 80.
Vardinogiannis was the founder and president of the Elpida (Hope) Association of Friends of Children with Cancer, established in 1990, the driving force behind the construction of a same-name Athens hospital devoted to children afflicted with cancer. She established the Marianna B. Vardinogiannis Foundation in 1997, another major charity in the country.
Vardinogiannis, née Bournaki, hailed from the western Peloponnese harbor town of Ermioni. She was married for 62 years, until her death, to Greek shipping and refinery tycoon Vardis Vardinogiannis, with whom she had five children.
