DC real estate pioneer Angelina Kalavritinos Formant, known to her Greek family as ‘YiaYia,’ died on April 1, 2022, quietly at her home in Chevy Chase, MD surrounded by her loving family.
A steadfast hustler, Ms. Formant purchased her first rental property at 15 years old from the money she saved while working at her father fruit stand at Union Market NE.
A 1942 graduate of McKinley Tech High School, Ms. Formant founded the original Formant Real Estate, then located on the 900 Block of the H Street Corridor NE in the 1940’s.
Possessing a wry sense of humor, Ms. Formant regaled her friends with stories. A favorite tale were her escapades driving on H Street NE during the 1968 riots in a car outfitted with phony press tags.
After decades living on Capitol Hill, Ms. Formant decided to move to Spring Valley. At the time, real estate deeds in that neighborhood carried restrictive convents forbidding any sale to Greeks, Italians, Jews and African Americans. Ms. Formant successfully challenged the restrictions, taking her case to all the way to the Supreme Court. She became one of the neighborhood’s first Greek-American residents.
Services for Ms. Formant will be as follows held as follows:
- Wake: 5 to 7 p.m. on April, 5 at Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home.
- Funeral: 10 a.m. on April 6 at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
Ms. Formant is survived by five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
