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William Smirnis
February 27, 1942 - April 15, 2014
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<div itemprop="description">My father Bill Smirnis was born in Feb 1942 in war torn Greece in the northern Province of Macedonia . Raised in the village of Klathorabi. He spoke Macedonian at home and learned to speak Greek in elementary school there. He is the youngest son of Stefo and Mara Smirnis( pronounced in Macedonian, Meerchev) and brother of John Smirnis and Lilly Vasilovsky. They took the opportunity to move to Canada in 1954 , when little Billy was only 12 years old. One of his first memories of Canada after getting off the ship they sailed over on was the amazing variety if foods available. He had never even seen a banana before! <br /> <br />My Dad was a visionary from the start. He fell in love with Canada and saw an amazing potential for success. He began working almost immediately shining shoes while attending middle school. He made it as far as the 8th grade and had a good command of the English language, speaking without an accent. Canada was booming after WW II and school couldn't keep him interested as there was a lot of money to be made. He had three jobs as a teenager while living in the Toronto 's Beaches community on Silverbirch. His delivery truck driving job for Unique Bakery led him to my Mom, Dina. They met at a company picnic and it was love at first sight. All my Dad could think of was to marry this Greek girl and run a restaurant together, raise their children and live happily ever after. My Dad new what he wanted and went after it. He and Dina married soon after. They honeymooned in Montreal and 9 months later had their first of 3 boys. I was born on November 26, 1963 just days after JFK was shot in Dallas where I now live. Van was born on June 9, 1965 and named after my grandfather on my Mom's side Vangelis. On May 13th of 1967 the third baby boy, Alexander was born, named after Bill's brother in law, Alex Vasilovsky who was so good to his sister, Lilly. <br />They bought the Stop 14 Restaurant in Cliffside Plaza on Kingston Rd. and it was a great success. Everyone loved my Dad and as his cooking skills and waistline grew, he became affectionately known as &quot;Big Billy&quot;. He was kind to everyone and always treated his friends and family to his wonderful homemade cooking. I would see him giving food to homeless people and always brought home something delicious for us at home. They had a strong immigrant work ethic and worked many, many, many long days and nights to build a better life for their family. They made a lot and spent a lot too. In 1964 they bought their first new home in Guildwood Village in the suburb of Scarborough just a few minutes east of the restaurant. It was an upscale neighborhood, predominately populated with white Anglo-Saxon Protestants with a lot less crime and better schools. They had new cars and gave us almost anything we wanted. <br />We had a privileged life living in a nice home in a safe neighborhood but missed our parents as they were at the restaurant most if the time. As soon as we were old enough to ride the bus, we headed to the restaurant after school and on weekends to help out, but mostly to be together. While we were in elementary school we spent many nights and weekends with our grandparents Baba and Dedo, my Dad's parents. I remember many times when there were all nine grandchildren there at the same time as my Dad's brother and sisters were also pursuing the Canadian dream. Family time with my parents first started when they bought our camper in the early 70s. I remember going to Lake Simcoe and spending the night many weekends and fishing with my Dad. The most memorable road trip with the camper was back in 1975 when the five of us plus Baba and Dedo went to Walt Disney World in Orlando all piled in to our Cadillac. Good times! <br /> <br />In the spring of 1977 my parents sold the restaurant and took us to the land of their birth, to their small villages of their childhood. We went north to Macedonia and then south to Sparta, where my Mom is from. We spent 7 weeks traveling all over the mainland and to the island of Rhodes. It was the most incredible trip. This was a long, well deserved and needed trip as a new restaurant and home were in their plans upon our return. After months of design and construction my parents opened the Silver Nugget Seafood and Steak Restaurant in Agincourt, a few miles north and west of Guildwood on Nugget Ave, just north of McCowan &amp; Sheppard. It had a formal dining room, a velvet bar area, banquet hall and a state of the art kitchen. Upon opening, they had hired one of the top chefs from the Royal York Hotel who helped earn the restaurant 4-stars from the Toronto Star newspaper. The banquet hall made many memories for thousands of area residents where they celebrated many of life's events. My Dad was famous for his generous portions of prime rib dinners. When the banquet hall was not booked, it was used for live band concerts, comedians and dinner theater. The comedian Jim Carey performed here before he became famous. Guests at the restaurant were treated to my Dad's famous soups and specials of the day. He was also among the first Toronto restaurateurs to bring food that did not sell to the homeless shelters. <br /> <br />As we outgrew our home in Scarborough, my parents wanted to reward our family with a big new home in Markham a few miles north of the new restaurant. We all felt a huge achievement in that. My parents and their three hard-working sons all took pride in our successful restaurant and big beautiful home. After 25 years of working together, my parents had nurtured their relationship all they could, and got divorced. My Dad turned his attention to looking after his parents during the last years of their lives and enjoyed their time together before his health required him to go to an assisted living apartment, ironically located right behind where the Stop 14 restaurant he ran years ago. My father loved us and always wanted us to strive to better ourselves, he was tough on us but it only made us want to be better. I think it worked. He took joy in any accomplishment we shared with him. He loved all of his grandchildren so very much. His eyes would light up and his voice would get so excited at the sound of any of their names. He also loved his fellow man and would give his last penny to help someone less fortunate than him. He loved watching the Toronto Maple Leafs with his boys while ordering Guildwood Pizza, fishing whenever he got the chance and cooking for anyone who was hungry. The world could use more people with a heart like my Dad&quot;s. He was a Christian in its most basic form, child-like faith. He never doubted and that was the best lesson he taught us. <br /> <br />We love you Pops <br /></div>