George Panagiotis Kousoulis, a longtime restaurateur and active member of the South Jersey Greek-American community, passed away on July 16, 2026. He was 90. His passing followed the unexpected loss of Zoe, his wife of 60 years, in February.
George was born November 16, 1935, in Elika, Laconia, Greece, to Panagiotis Elias Kousoulis and Fotini Maravelias Kousoulis. He grew up in Elika with five siblings. After completing the fifth grade, he left school to work in the family’s olive groves and onion fields, helping support the household. He later served in the Greek Navy.
In 1965, George purchased a ticket to Australia, planning to move there in search of better opportunities. His plans changed that August when he was introduced to Zoe on a blind date. She was visiting Greece for an AHEPA convention and spending time with relatives in Glyfada.
After two dates, George proposed. Zoe accepted after some consideration, and George set aside his plans for Australia. He instead traveled to Nova Scotia, Canada, to obtain his U.S. green card so they could marry.
George and Zoe were married on December 5, 1965, at Annunciation Church in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in December 2025 and raised three daughters and one son together. George became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 21, 1969.
He later helped his brother Theodore and Theodore’s family immigrate from Greece to the United States in the early 1970s. He also welcomed his father to the United States for several visits lasting multiple years.
George built his working life in the restaurant business. He began as a cook at Brooklawn Ponzio’s in Brooklawn, New Jersey, before becoming a part-owner of The Forum Inn in Cherry Hill.
From the mid-to-late 1970s through the early 1980s, he was a part-owner, manager, and chef at The Lion Gate restaurant in Cherry Hill. After the restaurant was sold, he worked at Ponzio’s in Cherry Hill until he and Zoe purchased Zoe’s Sandwich Shoppe in Haddonfield. They operated the shop from 1983 to 1996.
George then returned to Ponzio’s in Cherry Hill, where he worked as a cook until completing his restaurant career in 2001.
The long hours he worked to provide for his family left little opportunity to return to Greece. In the summer of 1996, George and Zoe began making annual trips to Elika, spending time with relatives and friends in the home and village where he had grown up.
Outside work, he enjoyed gardening, playing backgammon, and visiting Atlantic City casinos with Zoe and their friends. He remained closely involved with AHEPA Camden County Chapter No. 69 and St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill.
George was named AHEPAN of the Year for 2016-17. He and Zoe also served as grand marshals of the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 22, 2015.
At St. Thomas, he gave many hours to the church’s annual Agora Festival and helped found Kali Parea, a social club for senior citizens.
After their daughter Danielle was killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, George, Zoe and their family worked to preserve her memory through the church and scholarships for young people.
George and Zoe helped finance the renovation of the St. Thomas cultural center, which was renamed in Danielle’s honor, and later sponsored the Pantocrator in the church’s dome in her memory.
The Danielle Kousoulis Memorial Scholarship Fund, established by the family in 2002, provides scholarships to graduates of Haddon Township High School, members of St. Thomas and, since 2025, a student selected through the Hellenic University Club of Philadelphia.
Cooking remained central to George’s life, both professionally and at home. He hosted Father’s Day barbecues, Christmas Eve midnight brunches after church services, and large Greek Easter meals. For years, he turned the Easter lamb on the spit by hand before eventually purchasing an electric spit.
He was known for his soups, quiches, potato salad, coleslaw, meatballs, garlic string beans, lemon potatoes and marinated octopus in olive oil. Whether people gathered at his home in Haddon Township or visited him and Zoe during their summers in Elika, cooking was one of the ways George cared for those around him.
Danielle’s death was a loss from which George never fully recovered. He was also predeceased by his wife, Zoe; his parents; his sister, Chrysoula Kousoulis of Sparta, Greece; and his brother, Theodore Kousoulis of Cherry Hill.
He is survived by his children, Faith Hagerty and her husband, Sean, of Millersville, Maryland; Eleni Kousoulis and Rafael Perez of Haddon Township; and Peter Kousoulis of Haddon Township. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Amalia and Liam Hagerty and Nicholas Perez.
Other survivors include his siblings, Elias Kousoulis and his wife, Maria, of Athens; Haralambos Kousoulis and his wife, Maria, of Sparta; and Anastasia Karastatiris of Monemvasia; his sister-in-law, Zina Kousoulis of Cherry Hill; his godson, Nikolaos Stylianos and his wife, Antoinette, of Marlton; nieces and nephews in Greece, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; and many friends.
A viewing will be held Friday, August 7, 2026, from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church, 615 Mercer Street in Cherry Hill. The funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m., with interment at Locustwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Cherry Hill.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Danielle Kousoulis Memorial Scholarship Fund at daniellekousoulisfund.org. Donations may also be made to the St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church Danielle Kousoulis Community Center Building Fund by calling 856-665-1731.