It is with great sadness that we announce that Athanasios (Thomas) Zachos passed peacefully at home on August 27, 2024 at the age of 92. Athanasios is survived by his wife of almost 60 years, Koula (nee Kirimis), their three children, Constantine (Stacy), Marianthi (Eric) and Alexander (Voula) and 8 grandchildren, Kassandra, Thomas, Victoria, Frederick, Zoe, George, Chloe, Johanna.
Athanasios was the youngest of five children born in St. Nicholas, a small village in the central Peloponnese region of southern Greece on September 6th, 1931. His father Constantine, who was a priest and teacher, and his mother, Marianthi, provided a home full of love and faith. The second world war, and particularly the civil war that followed, led to tragedy as his father and two older brothers (George and Alexander) were killed in the savage communist uprising. Undaunted, this young boy of 13 survived and persevered, eventually making his way to Canada in 1960, where he met his wife, Kiriakoula. Together, through long hours and hard work, they became successful small business owners/operators while also showing off their entrepreneurial spirit by investing in numerous successful land development projects over the years.
While Athanasios had many business triumphs, he would tell you that his single greatest accomplishment was raising his family. While his family, like so many during wartime, was torn apart, raising his family brought him full circle and, in many ways, made him whole again. While he loved his children and their spouses, being a ‘papou’ was the greatest joy of his life. Seeing his grandkids, giving them tractor rides, and always offering encouragement in their academic pursuits or their sporting endeavours filled his life in ways he never imagined.
Athanasios’s life can be summed up in three words: resilience, love and faith. Having faced so many obstacles throughout his early life, he never believed in giving up. He proudly stated on numerous occasions that “Greeks never give up” and instilled this in his family through actions and not just words. If you ask anyone that knew him, they would all tell you what a wonderful man he was and how he always greeted everyone with a warm smile, a hearty handshake or a big hug. The man oozed love despite the hardships of his early life, revealing a strength and an optimism that was contagious and inspiring. He was kind, generous and amazingly humble. People would gravitate to him to bask in the positive energy he radiated. The source of this energy was his faith for Athanasios was a man of great faith. It was this that gave him his indomitable strength. From his youngest days, growing up a priest’s son, an altar boy in his hometown church to eventually being the president of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church here in Toronto for many years, the church was the one constant that centered and defined his life. It nurtured him and his family and provided the foundational beliefs that would guide him throughout all his days.
The family kindly requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Thomas C. Zachos Chair in Mitochondrial Research at the University of Toronto. The link is provided below. All donations go directly to the fund and donors are automatically emailed a tax receipt.
University of Toronto (utoronto.ca)
(https://engage.utoronto.ca/site/SPageServer?pagename=donate#/fund/571)