Let us celebrate the life of Louis Dennis Zakas. He died on March 6, 2017, but his impact will last for generations. For Lou Zakas was larger than life. His compassion, enthusiasm, commitment, sense of humor and love for life were contagious. He will be deeply missed.
Lou was born in Atlanta on January 6, 1931 to Greek immigrants, the late Panoula Rallis Zakas and Dennis G. “Charlie” Zakas. Although Lou was a loyal American, he also was incredibly proud of his Greek heritage. When Lou was young his father moved the family to Greece to escape the Great Depression, only to return a few years later, to escape World War II. Lou played in the first football game ever played in Grady Stadium. As a teenager, Lou worked for the Zakas Bakery, a large commercial bakery owned by his father and other family members, until his father’s untimely death in 1950.
Lou met Deppie Matheson, the love of his life, on the steps of the Greek Orthodox Church in Atlanta, just after she arrived for her freshman year at Agnes Scott College. They celebrated over 60 years of marriage.
In the 1950s, Lou served in the U.S. Army, attended the predecessor of Georgia State (he’d say he graduated from the “School of Hard Knocks”) and worked as a salesman. Thereafter, Lou owned and operated a series of restaurants, culminating with 7 Steers Restaurant, an Atlanta institution, with locations in the heart of Buckhead and across from the Fox Theatre. In the 1980s, Lou owned a successful labor services company and also began investing in real estate in Chamblee and South Downtown, which he continued to do until his death.
Lou was a dedicated community servant. Lou twice served on the Atlanta-Fulton County Recreation Authority, including as Vice Chairman. He was a trusted advisor to Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell, who recently observed: “Lou was a very close personal friend….I have lost someone very important and appreciated.”
A leader of the Greek community, Lou served as President of the Hellenic Center and on the Executive Committee of the Cathedral’s Project Faith building program. He served as President of the local chapter of the American Hellenic Progressive Association (AHEPA) and was recognized as AHEPAN of the Year. The Greek Orthodox Church honored Lou as an Archon, its highest lay honor.
Lou relished both the Greek and American aspects of his heritage. His annual Greek Easter party, featuring lambs slow-roasted on a spit, were equal parts traditional Greek Easter celebration and Old South political picnic. His dual heritage positioned him for incredible contributions to the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. He was Co-Chairman of the AHEPA Centennial Foundation, which gave Atlanta the Tribute sculpture, a landmark of Centennial Olympic Park. The Atlanta Cathedral appointed Lou as its official representative to the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG), and he also served as the unofficial liaison between ACOG and the Greek Olympic Committee. On many occasions Lou and Deppie, upon the request of ACOG and at the drop of a hat, entertained countless Greek dignitaries. Through these relationships Lou arranged for five Greek Americans to run the Olympic torch in Greece…A first.
After the Games Lou served as the Chairman of the Atlanta-Olympia Sister Cities program. He played a key role in the donation of the George C. Marshall statue to the U.S. Embassy in Athens, the reforestation of Athens, Greece and the donation by Athens, Greece of the Nike sculpture to the City of Atlanta.
Lou was the Chairman of the Atlanta International Museum (MODA). In 2006 he was honored as a Father of the Year for the benefit of the American Diabetes Association.
He leaves behind his son Dennis and daughter-in-law Martie, whom he loved as a daughter, and his four adoring grandchildren: Virginia, Page, Ned and Cabell. Lou was preceded in death by his wife Deppie; his parents, his siblings, George, Tassie and Betty; and Deppie’s Uncle George and Aunt Fannie Kotsoyianis. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law, George Demetriades and Charles Pefinis, in addition to his many wonderful nieces and nephews, who adored “Uncle Louie.” The family is incredibly grateful for the wonderful care that he received from his one-of-a-kind caregiver and dear friend, Maria Granger.
A visitation will be held Thursday night, March 9, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM at H. M. Patterson & Son-Spring Hill Funeral Home, 1020 Spring Street, Atlanta, GA 30309, Phone: 404-876-1022. The funeral will be held on March 10, 2017, at 11:00 AM at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral on Clairmont Road, followed by a graveside service at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Georgia, 41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 550, Atlanta, GA 30346 or the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 2500 Clairmont Road, Atlanta, Georgia, 30329, Phone: 404-633-5870.
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