Comsudes, Thomas
COMSUDES, Thomas
February 25, 1927 -
July 17, 2022
Thomas Comsudes (Koumsoudis, Koumshoulis), affectionately known by his family as Poppy, age 95, fell asleep in the Lord on July 17, 2022. Thomas was born in Iselin, New Jersey in 1927. He was the youngest child of Anastasia (Xanthou) Koumsoudis of Siatista, Greece and Savvas Koumsoudis of Limnos, Greece.
Thomas was preceded in death by his brother, Gregory Comsudis, sisters, Mary Bauman and Magdalena Pantelides and Thea Alexandra Kalantones, who helped to raise Thomas after his mother's early death.
Thomas was a remarkable husband, father and grandfather. Thomas' pride and joy was his family. He worked hard to provide a loving home and instill the Greek spirit of philotimo including love, respect, honor, integrity, compassion and doing good. He was a stubborn Greek with a great head of perfectly coiffed jet black hair, always dressed impeccably, who wanted things done his way, which was usually the correct way. He never met a stranger, always had a big smile and wanted to learn about anyone he encountered.
Thomas graduated from Woodbridge High School in 1943. He was the first in his family to attend college and graduated from Pace University in New York with a degree in business.
Thomas joined the Navy in 1945 during World War II, and served in the South Pacific, receiving numerous medals for his service. His family would joke that Thomas joined the Navy and ended the war.
Thomas met the love of his life, Margaret, in 1947 at a dance and they married in 1949.
Thomas had a successful career in the pharmaceuticals industry with Vestal Laboratories for over 40 years. He started out as a salesman and ultimately became a Vice President of Sales, moving him and the family over the years to Massachusetts, Missouri and Georgia. Thomas had a strong work and savings ethic and retired early from Vestal. He would continue to examine medical offices and various institutions he visited for Vestal products to be sure his customers were well serviced.
Thomas was very athletic and excelled in many sports. He played semi-pro football for the Woodbridge Golden Bears. He was small but fast earning him the nickname of "Scooter". He played baseball for the Iselin Cubs and was captain of the Pace University varsity baseball team.
Thomas was passionate about golf. He started playing golf in his 30's and continued to play until he was 94. He was recently honored at Indian Hills Country Club in Marietta, where he and his wife played golf for almost 50 years, for the implementation of the Century Club. When Thomas was 88 years old he was recognized by the Georgia State Golf Association for shooting better than his age with a score of 86. He had four hole in ones in his lifetime. He was notorious for winning tournaments and golf challenges, like closest to the pin. The running comment when determining a contest winner was "did Comsudes come in yet?"
Thomas loved all things Greek but especially the food. He could live on feta and olives and it was his breakfast of choice as a child. His true food love, however, was a good hot dog and a cold, frosty root beer. One of Thomas' jobs during the early years was to car-hop at Stewart's Hot Dogs. Thomas' love of a good dog inspired his grandson, Zachary, to start a hot dog business.
Thomas had a green thumb whether it was for the flowers in his beautifully sculpted yard or the vegetables in his garden, especially the tomatoes. He had a keen sense of humor and loved old classic movies and cartoons and recruited many a friend to join in his trivia questions.
He is survived by his wife of over 72 years, Margaret (Mesko) Comsudes, and children, Karen Fox, Pamela Stancil and Thomas Comsudes and his wife, Maria; in addition to his five grandchildren, Melissa Mackay LeMar and her husband AJ, Zachary Fox and his wife Christine, Justin Lundy, Gabrielle and Samuel Comsudes.
Services will be held on Saturday, July 30, 2022, 11:00 AM at the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, 3431 Trickum Road, Marietta, Georgia.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Thomas' memory to Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church in Marietta, Georgia.
May his memory be eternal!
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Southcare Cremation & Funeral Society
595 Franklin Gateway SE
Marietta, GA
30067
