Chevy & GMC Vans

For those of you who didn't know and to post on this site as well for Peter-his father pass on Thursday.


Peter-I want you to know our heart felt sorry to hear of your dad's passing.

Yes I did this on AS as well.The good folks here needed to know so I posted here as well.I am sure you know what a corner stone member you are of both sites.I will have a good thought for you and yours thru this ruff time.You need to talk to anyone,PM me or email me.Anything I can do for you please just ask.


Gary

Thanks for posting this.

Peter, my condolences. I cannot know what it is like for you, but I will pray for you.

peter, i only know you from what posts i've read here. but the passing of a family member always sucks...sorry to hear about it

condolences from our family Peter

Rob, Jen & Ian

Peter,

So sorry to hear of your father's passing; our thoughts are with you and your family.

Rob and Betty Shaver

Thank you all for your condolences and kind words. My dad passed away yesterday morning at 8:00 am.

He grew up in Greece during the 2nd World War. He talked of some of his experiences during the occupation of Greece by the Germans, and some of the stories would make the hair rise on my neck.
One such story was about when a German soldier had been killed by the resistance. The Germans had already warned the public that for every German soldier killed, 10 Greek citizens would be executed. My father was sitting in a cafe with some friends after work when a German troop carrier pulled up and the soldiers rounded up every man in the café. They were transported by truck to a building at the town center, and along with other men rounded up from other areas, they were all crammed into a room so tightly, they couldn't breath. My dad said he could hear some of the men crying, because they all knew that this was most certainly going to be an execution in retaliation for the killed German soldier.
After what must have seemed like an eternity, the door flung open and they were all forced to go out into the town center's courtyard. The German Lieutenant had insisted that all the townspeople be present. He personally pointed at 10 young men, who were then dragged to the edge of a stone wall. They were shot by a firing squad in front of their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and wives. That's just one of the many stories he told me...
Dad had been in & out of hospital the last year. He'd been burning the candle at both ends and lived far longer than he ever dreamed he would. 1st heart attack at age 50, triple bypass at 55, prostrate cancer at 60. Smoked 1-2 packs a day 'till mebbe 2 yrs ago (but stilled sneaked one when he thought he could get away with it LOL), drank wine with a passion and loved good food. It all caught up with him this last year. He had had a full life, was able to watch his grandchildren grow and the company he gave to his sons grow as well. He was a very proud man and justifiably so.

He was a good man. He was my dad and I had more than my share of arguments with him. But he was an honorable man who went thru hell to build a company which he could leave to his sons. He was well known in the Greek community here in Montreal and was respected as a man who never reneged on his word.
He was a good father and a good husband. He will be missed. But I would rather recall all the great memories rather than be sad for myself. He suffers no more.
He was my dad, and I'll love him always....

Nicely said =D>

sorry to hear about your father, well said spoken from the heart =D> =D>

I can Relate to Fathers passing......

I just lost my Grandfather this year, who served in the British Airforce With Honors in WW2......

Man, this hits me hard on Soo Many Levels......!

Be Strong My BROTHER.......

(you know where I`m at), >> and this is a 24 hour number OK..... ANYTIME!! If you wanna chat / Vent....

Keep your 'Chin-Up' Bro...... You are in my thoughts......

Men like that are few and far between. Be glad you had him for as long as you did.

Your dad should be proud of his sons. You're one of the good ones and his work shows.

Our thoughts & prayers are with you.

Jim, Sue, Jon & Chris

Thank you for sharing Petey.

You should celebrate his life. Not morn it.

You and your family are in our Prayers.

Thanks to all of you for your kind words.

Being the eldest (though far from the most mature nut.gif ), I felt it only fitting that I say something at Dad's funeral service tomorrow (Sunday) night. My younger brother has taken Dad's death quite hard, and neither he or my sister feel they can say anything up on the podium without a total meltdown. I thought that I could do it but strangely,composing the following small speech was tougher on me than being the 1st one in the hospital room where my Dad lay after he passed....

I'd like to share this with you all. I know it's prolly mushier text than many of you are accustomed to reading from me. But ASV.com & AS.com (even with it's inherent technical screw-ups and blunders), is the next closest thing to me after my family & close friends. Mind you, these sites are also the supply line for most of my now-close friends LOLOL




My brother, my sister and I thought long and hard as to whether we would….or could be able to speak in front of all of Dad’s friends, family & acquaintances. As I’m sure many of you know, it’s hard to lose someone you love & care about. To stand up before people who have been friends of a loved one you just lost and deliver a speech, however small or short, is something which I’ve discovered can be quite hard to accomplish without showing any emotions…….which ultimately means without breaking down & crying. But I feel that it wouldn’t be fair to Dad, or to any of you, to NOT know who our Dad was and what he had done for his family. I need for you all to know who & what kind of man our dad was.

Our dad was awesome. He wasn’t perfect; he could at times be stubborn and set in his ways. But he was one of the most unselfish, generous & forgiving men I’ve ever known. He worked hard to support his family and give his children a quality of life he only dreamed of growing up in Greece during the 2nd World War. He had seen the ugliness of war and poverty during those hard times, and wanted so much more for his own family.

He came to Canada on August 30th, 1955, exactly 52 years to the day of his passing. He came, like many immigrants of that time, with nothing but an old suitcase and the wish to make a place for himself in this country. After working different jobs in Toronto & in B.C., he eventually settled in Montreal and started a family. Remembering young Calliope (Poppy), who he knew from his home town in Xanthi, he was lucky to convince her to come to Canada. He married this gorgeous & loving woman who agreed to stand by his side and build a family and life together.

The first years were lean, no doubt. Lean & tough. But through their perseverance, our parents pulled through it all and slowly started to establish themselves in this country. With only $200, our dad started a refrigeration & air conditioning business, which required working long hours. Our mom stayed home raising us kids while mending pantyhose for a local hosiery company.

We moved to the South Shore in 1971. My dad had worked hard enough to be able to buy a home for his family, and when we moved into that house in Greenfield Park, we all felt like millionaires.

By the 80’s, Dad had established himself in the community. He had built a reputation as being an honest, hard-working businessman. His word was as solid as a rock. If Johnny promised that the job would be ready by such & such date, you could bet money that it would be. His handshake at a business meeting was as good as his signature. In 1986, Dad handed the reins of the company over to Andy and me. Although Dad was officially “retired”, I don’t think anyone explained to him that retiring meant not coming to work anymore. He would show up for work during the week, and even came in every Saturday to do his paperwork.

In the early 90s, Dad founded “the wine club”. This “club” was composed of fellow Greeks who would religiously assemble every Saturday for a get-together which consisted of wine and mezé. One “member” would bring the wine, one would bring the food. Every week, a different member would assume the responsibility of supplying the wine or food. Discussions at these meetings would include politics, religion and various other topics. As heated as these topics would & could get, all the members would invariably reunite the following week for another round of the same. Always without any resentment or ill-will. Many of those members are here tonight. We want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for having given our father such pleasure. You all have no idea how much he looked forward to those Saturdays. He didn’t golf, he didn’t bowl. He didn’t collect stamps or carve wood. But he did so enjoy the company of all the members of the “Wine Club” every Saturday. You all contributed to his happiness in his later years, and his family will be eternally grateful for that.

And now, our father has passed away. He lived to be almost 82 yrs old, much longer than he himself ever expected to live. We are grateful to have had him with us for this long, though we had hoped he’d be with us for longer. He had a chance to see his children & grandchildren grow, and see the company which he built with blood and sweat grow as well. As sad as we are to lose our father, we’re happy that he no longer feels any pain. He is at peace. And rather than feel sorry for myself & my siblings for having lost our father, we’d rather rejoice in the knowledge & pride that John Evangelidis was "our" Dad. He knew we loved him, and we knew he loved us.

I beg those of you who have parents who are still with you, remind them how much you love them. My brother, sister and I were brought up in a home where we weren’t ashamed or embarrassed to show our emotions. We often told our mom & dad we loved them, we were often told the same by them. But now, suddenly, it seems like we, like I, should have said it more often. So Dad, if you can hear, let us tell you just one more time that we love you. And to our sweet mother who is still with us, please remember that we do love you so very much.





That's it folks, there ain't no more. I won't be posting anything more on this subject, I don't wanna bum anyone out. Thanks for allowing me to do this, I think it helped the healing process along....

Wow.

It's great that you have such a rich set of memories to go on. My condolences to you and yours, Peter.

Take care.

Ken

Peter, that will be an awesome speech! Your dad was a great man and should be proud to have you as a son. Be strong today and know we'll be thinking of you.