Georgios Karounos, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away on Sunday, November 6, 2022 with his family by his side. He was 93. Originally from Skala, Lakonia, Greece - and with only a 5th grade education but with an abundance of courage - Georgios immigrated to Canada with his wife and two young children in search of a new life and better opportunities for their family. In three short years, the family expanded to five children.

Never afraid of hard work, he toiled at two and even three jobs at a time to provide for his family. He was both a labourer and entrepreneur, but still found time to get involved in the community. He served as president of community organizations, including the Greek Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion where he presided over the organization’s biggest growth spurt and most successful times. He also got involved in municipal, provincial, and federal politics here in Canada.

Georgios was a keen music lover who taught himself to play the bouzouki and keyboard. He loved to sing and dance, and he imbued his children with that same love of music. He taught them to waltz, to tango, and of course to Greek-dance. He even taught his grandchildren how to Greek-dance. He was very light on his feet and always the life of the party.

Despite his limited formal education, Georgios had a voracious appetite for learning and learned to use a computer in his seventies, surfing the internet and using word processors with ease. Remarkably, he wrote a couple of history books, an autobiography, and some books of poetry.

Georgios was predeceased by his beloved wife of 60 years, Zaharoula. He is survived by his children Aphrodite & Eleftherios, Taso & Marisa, Peter, Mary & Panikkos, Daisy & Ken; his grandchildren Anastasia & Konstantinos, Zaharoula & Demetrios, Constantine & Sandra, Zacharoula, George & Tiffany, Zacharoula & Enzo, Evdokia & Jon, Demetra, Anthousa & Andrew, Andrew & Victoria, George, Michael; his great-grandchildren Aggeliki, Athanasios, Alistair, Eleftheria, Aphrodite, Athena, Eleftherios, Aphrodite, Zoe, Isabella, Peter, Evangelos, Selah, Essie, Lukas, Julia; his surviving siblings Panayiota, Ioanna & Evangelos, Constantina & Constantinos, Ourania, Sotiris.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 10, 2022,
from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with a service at 6:30 p.m. at
Elgin Mills Visitation Centre,
1591 Elgin Mills Road East, Richmond Hill (905-737-1720).

Funeral Services will be held on Friday, November 11, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. at
St. Panteleimon Greek Orthodox Church of Markham,
11323 Warden Avenue, Markham (905-887-7311).

Graveside service and reception immediately following.

The family would like to express their gratitude and admiration for the team at True Davidson Acres Long-Term Care Home.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer Society https://alzheimer.ca/on/en/take-action/donate or to Michael Garron Hospital Foundation https://www.mghf.ca/ways-give