John Savas

John Savas ("Papou"), age 92, passed away peacefully on November 1, 2017. He was born on July 28, 1925, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Natalia (nee Georgiadi) and Jack Savas (Savvas Patrikiadis), Greek immigrants from Constantinople and Cappadocia. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sophie (nee Paraskevopoulou), originally from Filiatra, Greece, his daughters Diana and Vanessa, his son Jack and daughter-in-law Jane, his grandchildren Jackie Giska and her husband Andrew, John, and Michael, and his sister and brother-in-law Thelma and Sam Adams. He was awaiting the imminent birth of his first great-grandchild.

John graduated from Glenville High School in Cleveland and served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific theater during WWII. He received a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from Case Institute of Technology, now part of CWRU. He began his professional career at Bonn Aluminum in South Haven, Michigan, and then was employed as a research scientist at Republic Steel Corporation in Canton and Cleveland, Ohio, from 1956-1982. He subsequently worked as a metal-failure-analysis expert consultant at Hurst Metallurgical in the Dallas-Fort Worth area until the age of 82, when he returned to the family home in Largo, Florida. The Savas family is forever grateful to Hurst owner Mahesh Madhani, who was a supportive boss and loving friend to John until his passing.

John's interests were diverse, and he was especially interested in current affairs/politics as well as in cutting-edge science and medicine. At various points in his professional life, he had traveled as a consultant to Hungary and the Ukraine. He had also visited Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and Argentina, where his paternal first cousins resided. He was proud of his personal library, enjoyed fine dining, and derived special pleasure from giving silver dollars as gifts at Christmas and for birthdays, a tradition from his parents' part of the world.

John was an honest, intelligent, caring, and generous man who sought to help humanity in any way he could-whether by giving financial assistance to down-on-their-luck individuals, sharing his ideas on vitamin therapy for cancer, or focusing on fusion energy research. He wanted to make a difference, and he did so in the lives of many.

John loved his family greatly, and they loved and will miss him. He loved God deeply, and our merciful Lord heard his prayers, bestowing many blessings upon him and his family during his lifetime. It is appropriate that John passed on All Saints Day. �'á��ω�½ία á�� μ�½ήμη. Eonia i Mnimi. Memory Eternal.

*Donations in memory of John Savas may be made to the Philoptochos Society of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Greater Orlando.*

Viewing will take place at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1217 Trinity Woods Lane, Maitland, Florida 32751, on Tuesday, November 7, from 9am until time of funeral service at 10am. Burial to follow at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Florida.

Visitation

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
1217 Trinity Woods Lane
Maitland, FL  32751
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
9:00-10:00am

Service

Funeral Service

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
1217 Trinity Woods Lane
Maitland, FL  32751
Tuesday, November 7, 2017
10:00am

Cemetery

Florida National Cemetery
6502 SW 102nd Avenue
Bushnell, FL  33513