Georgia Gianakos Buchanan

GEORGIA GIANAKOS BUCHANAN, 1926-2026

Georgia Gianakos Buchanan, writer, artist, journalist, and fundraiser for many charitable causes, passed away on September 19, 2026, at age 100. She was born in Indianapolis on August 4, 1926, the second of four children of Paul and Stella Gianakos, both Greek immigrants. Georgia’s early years were spent in the Foreign District, on the near-west side of downtown, the home of many immigrant families, many from the Balkan countries.

Possibly the last person to be able to construct a map of the Foreign District from memory, she drew one showing businesses along West Washington Street, including her father’s Manhattan Restaurant, where she would study the newspapers left by customers, her early introduction to what became a journalism career. The map was featured in an article about her immigrant roots, with family photos, in the Summer 2025 edition of Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History published by the Indiana Historical Society, its headquarters very near where the Foreign District had been located.

After graduating from Shortridge High School, Georgia worked her way through Butler University, earning a degree in journalism to realize her dream of writing for a newspaper. She became the TV-Radio and Movie Editor for The Indianapolis News in the 1950s, filing stories from both coasts, covering the Golden Age of Television and Movies.

Later, in Washington, D.C., she was a staffer for Mutual Broadcasting. Following her journalism career, and after the birth of her special-needs son, Bryan Hadin, she moved back to Indianapolis, turned to philanthropy, becoming a community leader, extraordinary fundraiser, and advocate for the arts and challenged children. She chaired more than 30 fundraisers, as well as serving on numerous boards, including the Mental Health Association and New Hope of Indiana, the president of the board of Indiana Special Olympics, and the national board of the National Mental Health Association.

Georgia created successful fundraising galas for the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the “Dickens Ball” for the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Patriotic Ball for Conner Prairie, and the Wish Ball for the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund.

She received the Sagamore of the Wabash award from the State of Indiana twice. Other honors include lifetime achievement awards from Heritage Place, Indianapolis Magazine, the Indiana Children’s Wish Fund, and the Alumni Achievement Award from Butler University. The Woman’s Press Club of Indiana named Georgia its 2018 Communicator of Achievement for excellence in communications and service to the community.

Georgia’s board memberships with arts and cultural organizations included Indiana Repertory Theatre, Conner Prairie Outdoor Museum, and Dance Kaleidoscope. She also served on the boards of Butler University and the International Center. She was, in addition, a life member of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, a member of the Eagle Society of the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and a supporter of the Indianapolis Opera.

She was the author of five books: Paved with Gold, a novel set in her hometown; her memoir, 428-1/2: My Journey Beyond the Railroad (the title refers to the address of the upstairs apartment on West Washington Street, near her father’s restaurant); How to Live Beyond 90 without Falling Down; If They Only Knew, a novel set in Indianapolis and Greece; and Chasing The Stars: The Golden Age of Movies and TV…and Beyond, stories and photos of the famous film and TV stars, sports stars, and politicians she got to know during journalism and fundraising careers.

She was also an artist and had exhibits of her pastel paintings, mostly of scenes of her parents’ native Greece.

She is survived by her son, Bryan Mark Hadin, five nieces and nephews and their spouses and children, as well as her first husband Lee Hadin.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Stella Gianakos, and her three siblings and their spouses, Athena Wright (Robert), Mary Albean (Larry), and John Gianakos (Violet) as well as her second husband, the Honorable Paul H. Buchanan Jr.

Services will be held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 3500 W. 106th Street, Carmel, Indiana, on Monday, September 28. Viewing will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the funeral at 11 a.m. Burial will be at Crown Hill Cemetery.