Kristina Antoniades, retired anatomic pathologist at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, has died at 88
She embraced her Finn Swede heritage and served as councilor and recording secretary for the Essington-based Swedish Colonial Society.
Kristina Antoniades, 88, of Philadelphia, longtime anatomic pathologist at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, researcher, writer, board member of the American Swedish Historical Museum, councilor and former recording secretary for the Swedish Colonial Society, and volunteer docent at the Barnes Foundation, died Wednesday, May 7, of complications from lymphoma at Pennsylvania Hospital.
Born in Viborg in 1936, when it was part of Finland, Dr. Antoniades served her medical residency at Hahnemann University Hospital in the mid-1960s and worked in Crozer-Chester’s department of pathology until her retirement in 2004. She was a pioneering researcher and expert on breast and ovarian carcinoma, liver cell tumors, the effects of radiation, and other conditions.
Her research appeared in the Lancet, Journal of the American Cancer Society, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and other publications. “She was exceptionally curious about everything,” her family said in a tribute.
She earned her medical degree at the University of Helsinki in 1962 and met her husband, John, also a doctor, while at Hahnemann. Her husband is from Greece, and they returned to Finland for two years after her residency to practice and receive work visas from the United States.
Dr. Antoniades embraced her Finn Swede heritage and served as councilor and recording secretary for the Essington-based Swedish Colonial Society. She wrote for the Swedish Colonial News and was active on the board of the American Swedish Historical Museum in South Philadelphia.
She was especially interested in botany and Philadelphia’s history as part of New Sweden, and her 2013 story about Finnish botanist Pehr Kalm’s visit to the city in the 1700s was published in 2013. “She committed herself to understanding and sharing the stories of Swedish immigration to the United States,” her family said.
She studied art history, favored American impressionists, and volunteered as a docent at the Barnes Foundation. “She was very kind, very resourceful, a can-do person,” her family said.
Kristina Elisabeth Bjorklof was born June 25, 1936. Her family moved to Ekenäs, Finland, and then to Helsinki during World War II, and her family said: “Her mettle and can-do spirit was melded during this time and carried through her life as an enduring gift and perspective for anyone who knew her.”
She married John Antoniades, and they had a daughter, Helena, and a son, Christos, and lived in Society Hill.
Dr. Antoniades enjoyed digging around in her garden at the family’s summer home in Haverford. She was an adventurous cook, her daughter said, and no recipe was too daunting that she would not try it.
She liked to read stories by P.G. Wodehouse and other humorists, and she collected cartoons she came across in the New Yorker that featured dogs. She loved flowers, conversations over dinner, and postcards from vacations.
“Her kindness and intense curiosity will continue to inspire all who knew her,” her family said.
In addition to her husband and children, Dr. Antoniades is survived by two grandchildren and other relatives. A sister died earlier.
Services were held earlier.
Donations in her name may be made to the Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, Pa. 19130; the Swedish Colonial Society, The Lazaretto, 97 Wanamaker Ave., Essington, Pa. 19029; and the American Swedish Historical Museum, 1900 Pattison Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19145.