He was born January 15, 1948, in St. Louis, Missouri. He was adopted by Peter and Blanche Sarakas and grew up there and at the family farmhouse in Fredericktown, Missouri.
He moved to Texas in 1972, where he met Susie Harrison. They were married for 36 years before she passed in 2011. They raised three children together: Crystal, whom he adopted and gave his name to, and two children from that marriage, Shauna and David.
His life was not without struggle, nor was he without flaws, but at his core he was a man who loved his wife, loved his children and his family, and loved to fish. Most of the time, it was in that order.
He was a roughneck, a truck driver, a carpenter, and a jack of all trades. He built remarkable holiday lawn decorations because his wife told him to. He liked to wind down in his recliner with a glass of iced tea, and either a Western or an old war movie (usually starring John Wayne), and he wasn’t sleeping, just resting his eyes. He also made the best pot of spaghetti sauce you’ll ever taste.
He traveled the country as a truck driver, but one of his most cherished memories was his visit to Niagara Falls. “That’s a whole lot of water!” he said over and over. “Man, would you just look at that.”
He is survived by his daughters, Crystal Sarakas-Kocher of Binghamton, NY (he never did get to finish fixing her porch) and his son-in-law, Chris (with whom he shared a love of truck-driving songs); Shauna Gilmore of San Angelo, TX (his “daddy’s girl”); and his son, David Sarakas of Odessa, TX (his #1 fishing buddy in the world).
He is also survived by his sons from a previous marriage: Chris Sarakas of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Eric Sarakas of Bon Terre, Missouri; his ex-son-in-law, Brian Gilmore of Odessa; brother-in-law, James Campbell of Odessa; and by three fantastic grandchildren - Cody Sarakas, Kira Gilmore and Connor Gilmore - who he fondly hopes have inherited his love of fishing, good food, old movies and sleeping in a comfy recliner.
He was preceded into that Great Fishing Hole in the Sky by his beloved wife, Susie (who made him bait her hook and clean her fish); his parents Pete and Blanche; his brother John; and his in-laws, Casper and Belle Campbell.
A private memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers or donations, the family asks that you go out and cast a line into the water, and sit back and enjoy the bounty of this earth. He’d love to be sitting right there with you.
