Demetrios “Jim” Petrides, of Worcester, MA, Newtown Square, PA and Dewey Beach, DE , passed away peacefully on April 27th 2023, a month before his 91st birthday, surrounded by his four children and members of his loving family.
Jim was born in Worcester, MA in May of 1932 to Theodore and Andronikki Petrides, immigrants from the island of Mytilene, Greece. He was the second of three children; older brother, Petros and younger sister Helen. Jim grew up in the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Spyridon in Worcester, MA attended South High School and went on to get his business degrees from Boston University. He served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, then married Anastasia Bassios in July of 1957 in Worcester, MA. Together, they raised four children in the Philadelphia area.
After retiring from the Air Force, Jim worked for MONY selling insurance and managing an insurance agency in Broomall, PA for the early part of his career.
Jim started a second career as a restauranteur later in life, owning and managing Theo’s Family Restaurant in Dewey Beach, DE for over two decades. He created a unique environment for his children and their friends to learn and work, fostering relationships that lasted a lifetime. He was appreciated and loved by many of his employees, who worked for him faithfully, and by his regular customers.
Throughout his married life he was an active member of the St Luke’s Greek Orthodox Church in Broomall, PA serving as president of the parish council and choir director for many years. Jim, never shying away from innovating and thinking big, helped to establish the Greek Affair annual festival fundraiser at St. Luke’s which continues today.
A passionate musician, coming from a musical family, Jim played the trumpet professionally and sang in multiple choirs, choruses, barber shop quartets and glee clubs throughout the world. Entertaining his air force crew with trumpet solos on flights and playing in bands as a young teenager in local establishments in Worcester, MA are few of the many, many stories he loved to share with his children and grandchildren from his incredibly rich life.
“Dad” “Papou” “Theo” was always excited to listen to the dreams, accomplishments and heartaches of his children, their children and their children’s children. Despite battling blindness later in life, heart failure and renal failure, and starting dialysis at the age of 85 years of age, he continued to live his life abundantly, singing in the choir at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, with barber shop quartets and choruses, and sharing stories with his family, never believing he was disabled. His memory was spectacular. Despite his advanced age he remembered things he talked about on the phone with his grandkids the day before and things from his childhood, equally well, amazing his entire family.
Jim is preceded in death by his mother Andronikki, his father Theodore, and brother Petros and our mom Anastasia Petrides. Jim is survived by his sister Helen McCallum, four children; Alexis Petrides Hackett, Fr. Theodore and Cristen Petrides, Matthew and Elizabeth Petrides, John and Tracey Petrides and thirteen grandchildren and ten great-grand children.
The family of Demetrios Petrides wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Mrs. Helen Staub, Ms. Esther White, Mr. Jake Winchester, Mrs. Tina Hsu, Ms. Dianna Roe, Ms. Doris Burbage, Mr. Rob McNelis, The Atrium staff at
Churchman Village, Bayada Health Care, Dr. Antony “Leslie” Innasimuthu and St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church.
Visitation will be 11:00 am Monday, May 1, 2023 at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, 2300 W Huntington Dr. Wilmington, DE 19808. Funeral services will immediately follow at 12:00 pm with Fr. Silouan Burns of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, Fr. Theodore Petrides, Fr. Alexey Petrides and Fr. Elia Pappas officiating.
Burial will be Monday May 8th, 2023 at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Rd. Bear, DE 19701 at 2:00 pm.
Memorials may be given to the Blinded Veterans Association, www.bva.org.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Demetrios "Jim" Petrides, please visit our flower store.
Jim was born in Worcester, MA in May of 1932 to Theodore and Andronikki Petrides, immigrants from the island of Mytilene, Greece. He was the second of three children; older brother, Petros and younger sister Helen. Jim grew up in the Greek Orthodox Community of St. Spyridon in Worcester, MA attended South High School and went on to get his business degrees from Boston University. He served as a pilot in the United States Air Force, then married Anastasia Bassios in July of 1957 in Worcester, MA. Together, they raised four children in the Philadelphia area.
After retiring from the Air Force, Jim worked for MONY selling insurance and managing an insurance agency in Broomall, PA for the early part of his career.
Jim started a second career as a restauranteur later in life, owning and managing Theo’s Family Restaurant in Dewey Beach, DE for over two decades. He created a unique environment for his children and their friends to learn and work, fostering relationships that lasted a lifetime. He was appreciated and loved by many of his employees, who worked for him faithfully, and by his regular customers.
Throughout his married life he was an active member of the St Luke’s Greek Orthodox Church in Broomall, PA serving as president of the parish council and choir director for many years. Jim, never shying away from innovating and thinking big, helped to establish the Greek Affair annual festival fundraiser at St. Luke’s which continues today.
A passionate musician, coming from a musical family, Jim played the trumpet professionally and sang in multiple choirs, choruses, barber shop quartets and glee clubs throughout the world. Entertaining his air force crew with trumpet solos on flights and playing in bands as a young teenager in local establishments in Worcester, MA are few of the many, many stories he loved to share with his children and grandchildren from his incredibly rich life.
“Dad” “Papou” “Theo” was always excited to listen to the dreams, accomplishments and heartaches of his children, their children and their children’s children. Despite battling blindness later in life, heart failure and renal failure, and starting dialysis at the age of 85 years of age, he continued to live his life abundantly, singing in the choir at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, with barber shop quartets and choruses, and sharing stories with his family, never believing he was disabled. His memory was spectacular. Despite his advanced age he remembered things he talked about on the phone with his grandkids the day before and things from his childhood, equally well, amazing his entire family.
Jim is preceded in death by his mother Andronikki, his father Theodore, and brother Petros and our mom Anastasia Petrides. Jim is survived by his sister Helen McCallum, four children; Alexis Petrides Hackett, Fr. Theodore and Cristen Petrides, Matthew and Elizabeth Petrides, John and Tracey Petrides and thirteen grandchildren and ten great-grand children.
The family of Demetrios Petrides wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Mrs. Helen Staub, Ms. Esther White, Mr. Jake Winchester, Mrs. Tina Hsu, Ms. Dianna Roe, Ms. Doris Burbage, Mr. Rob McNelis, The Atrium staff at
Churchman Village, Bayada Health Care, Dr. Antony “Leslie” Innasimuthu and St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church.
Visitation will be 11:00 am Monday, May 1, 2023 at St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, 2300 W Huntington Dr. Wilmington, DE 19808. Funeral services will immediately follow at 12:00 pm with Fr. Silouan Burns of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church, Fr. Theodore Petrides, Fr. Alexey Petrides and Fr. Elia Pappas officiating.
Burial will be Monday May 8th, 2023 at the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 2465 Chesapeake City Rd. Bear, DE 19701 at 2:00 pm.
Memorials may be given to the Blinded Veterans Association, www.bva.org.
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