Obituary of George Stathopoulos
George Stathopoulos, 85, of Victor, NY passed away on April 17th, 2020.
He is predeceased by his father Dimitrios Stathopoulos, mother Elesavet (Natsis) Stathopoulos, sisters Victoria Tonas, Angeliki Dedes and brothers-in-law Agisilaos Stathopoulos, Argirios Tonas, Ioannis Giannopoulos and sister in law Katherine Stathopoulos.
He is survived by his wife Eleni (Tsongas) Stathopoulos, sons Demetrios, Constantinos (Sevi) and Stelianos (Katherine), stepchildren Michael (Toula) Naselaris, Steve Naselaris and Penny Naselaris grandchildren George, Niko, Rita, Evan, Peter, Ellie, Georgie, Nicole and George. Also survived by his brother Alex of Webster, NY, sisters Elpiniki Stathopoulos and Irene (Steve) Tasikas both of Webster, NY, brother in law Michael Dedes of Victor, NY, sister Soula Giannopoulos of Florina, Greece, many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews both here and in Greece.
George was born in 1935 in Drosopigi, Florina in Greece. Having to quit school at the age of 10 during both World War II and the Greek Civil war, he began to work as young boy supporting his family by doing work in the forests and construction work in and around Northern Greece. At the age of 19 he was conscripted into the Greek Army where he was made a Palace Guard, one of the highest honors in the Greek military. After his service, while continuing to work in the family construction business, he was afforded the opportunity to emigrate to Canada. After working several jobs and trying to learn a new language, he emigrated to the USA via Toronto Canada in 1961. Armed with construction skills and a tremendous work ethic, he learned the glazing trade first working at Mac’s Glass in Rochester, NY and finally working at Ajay Glass. From that start, he proceeded to buy out the company and become the majority owner of Ajay Glass Co. Today that same company, which is a Top 50 glazing contractor in the US, is run by the second generation of the family and is based on the model of hard work, ethics and skill he possessed and instilled in his sons. George set the foundations for his family to succeed in family, life and business.
The family wishes to thank all the staff, doctors and nurses of Rochester General Hospital who cared for him up until his death. Particularly, we wish to thank his neighbor, Dr. Tim Malins, and his family for their tremendous love and support and Penny Robinson, his longtime secretary, controller and friend who supported him for 49 years.
Due to the CORONA Virus pandemic, burial services will be held privately. A memorial service will be held at a later date to celebrate the life of George. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider donating to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Rochester or the Rochester Regional Health Foundation.
Thank you to all who have kept George and the family in their thoughts and prayers. We look forward to being able to celebrate his life in the near future with all of you.
