“You can’t fight city hall,” yet “The squeeky wheel gets the grease” and “If you play your cards right” you might just end up having an amazing life full of laughter, love, and a tight-knit family. In the end, you’ll be able to say with certainty, that you have, “No regrets!” These are things that our dad said. He was a wise man full of compassion, zest for life, and had the ability to make anyone in his presence, feel special. He had an infectious smile, charming personality, a great sense of humor, and a heart of gold!
Deano was born in Dafnae, Aegaeon, Greece in 1952. In 1968, at the age of 16 he relocated to the U.S. in Western MA where he lived, attended high school, worked, learned how to make pizza, met his former wife Karen and started a family. He later gained citizenship of the U.S. in 1983.
In 1976 he moved his small family to Winchester, NH where he opened up his first business, the Winchester Pizza House. Dad’s dream expanded when, in 1983 he bought the building that housed Deano’s Pizza & Restaurant on Main Street, which was known to many as a local landmark that drew many beloved customers and friends from near and far. So many people have fond memories of Deano and his delicious pizza during their family outings to the restaurant and dad loved watching young families grow throughout the years.
Besides his successful business of over 30 years, Deano also took so much pride in his family and his home. He loved maintaining his lawn which he referred to as his golf course and working on projects in his garage. Most of all, he loved spending time with family on his deck celebrating holidays and birthdays with BBQ’s, music, and lots of laughter.
Hobbies included woodworking, using his ingenuity to fix or improve many gadgets & machinery, gardening, cheering on the Patriots, Red Sox, and Bruins, making soap and bread. Deano made friends wherever he went. Throughout his life, many people who shared friendship with him, have expressed their admiration and love for him.
We are grateful that even though, after a sudden and short period of failing health, we were able to surround him with love in his final days.
Those he leaves behind include his 3 daughters with whom he shared with Karen: Maria and her husband Douglas Royce, Christina Eliopoulos, Deana and her husband, Nicholas Brown, his best friend Crystal Staresina, his grandsons Andrew and Alexander Royce and his beloved cats. He is predeceased by his father Panagiotes Eliopoulos, mother Despina Liakopoulos and brother John Eliopoulos.
A funeral service will be held Thursday, April 4, 2019 at 10:00 am at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 70 West Street, Keene, NH. Family and friends are invited to call on Wednesday, April 3 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Fletcher Funeral Home, 33 Marlboro Street, Keene, NH.
