Stephen Pappas (Stefanos Papadopoulos) passed away peacefully at home on November 20, 2019. He was born on March 20, 1935, in Dafni, Voiou Kozani, in the Macedonian region of Greece to Mihalis and Eleni Papadopoulos.
In 1951 at the age of 16, he left his family and schooling behind and made the solo journey to America. He arrived through Ellis Island on August 4, 1951, and established himself in Atlantic City to work in the hospitality industry.
When it was time to settle down, his visit back to Greece provided him the good fortune of meeting and marrying his lovely wife, Maria. Together they traveled to America, where they put down roots in the Philadelphia area to start a family.
Cooking, eating, hunting, and being a jokester were his passions to anyone who knew him along with his big heart. He worked hard all of his life to help raise his four college-educated daughters, which was his greatest pride and joy.
He is survived by his devoted wife Maria (née Stoimenides), his daughters Helen (Earle Drake), Debbie, Cora (Orlando Castro), Stephanie, his brother Demetrios aka James (Penelope), sisters-in-law Anastasia Kotanides, Eleni Stoimenidou of Greece, and nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents and sister Evanthia Gitsoulis of Polykastano, Greece.
Friends and family are invited to his viewing 10:30 to 12:00, Monday, November 25, 2019, at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Upper Darby, PA 19082, and his funeral service at noon. Interment following at St. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Springfield, PA 19064.