George Tzavaras lived his American dream, and the journey was well worth it, his sons said.
He was in his 50s when he finally made it to the U.S., but he ultimately achieved permanent residency, which had been his goal since he was a child, growing up in Greece.
“He really wanted us to get an education, and we did,” said Ted Tzavaras, a son who lives in Atlanta.
“If we played sports in school, he kind of frowned at that,” added his brother Nick Tzavaras, who also lives in Atlanta. “He wasn’t interested in us playing sports, because he wanted us to get the education. That was part of the dream.”
The Tzavaras brothers say their father’s advice, collected over the years and disseminated at regular intervals, will never be forgotten.
“It is something we hope to pass on to our children and grandchildren,” Nick Tzavaras said.
George Tzavaras, of Atlanta, died Sunday at his home, of natural causes. He was 100. A funeral service has been planned for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, Atlanta. Burial will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill, is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Tzavaras’ journey to America started in 1930, when he was a 17-year-old. He sailed from Greece to Havana, Cuba, to work with one of his brothers. Eventually, both brothers moved to Panama, where they opened a small restaurant and Mr. Tzavaras became a naturalized citizen of the country.
After a few years in Panama with his brother, Mr. Tzavaras decided to return to Greece and get married. In the '40s, he met and married Irene Lepidas, and soon took his new bride to Panama, where he’d built a life for himself. The couple was married for 44 years when Mrs. Tzavaras died in 1991.
Mr. Tzavaras always had an eye for business, even though he didn’t have a formal college education. He bought real estate in Panama and continued to work in food service. He moved his wife and sons to Atlanta in 1964, when he received an appointment in the office of the consulate of the Republic of Panama.
Ted Tzavaras said his father had to move to Atlanta to take the appointment and, in the meantime, he and his family had the chance to become American citizens. Once he moved and got settled, he began saving and investing his money, his sons said.
“He was always looking for investments and he knew real estate was a good investment,” Ted Tzavaras said of his father. “And those investments served him well.”
In Mr. Tzavaras' spare time, he worked on his family genealogy, looking for distant relatives and compiling records. It was hard work, but it was a labor of love, his sons said. He didn't want any accolades for the things he did. His goal was to find a better life for himself and for generations to come.
“He was a very humble man, but I know he was proud to be in America and he was glad he moved us to Atlanta all of those years ago,” Ted Tzavaras said.
In addition to his two sons, Mr. Tzavaras is survived by four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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