Anastasios S. Kouris

Anastasios Stephanou Kouris, age 97, fell asleep in the Lord on April 26, 2017 at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Services will be held all at Saint John The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 5300 El Camino Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89118. Monday, May 1, 2 017, 5:00 PM Viewing; 6:00 PM Trisagion. Tuesday, May 2, 2017, 10:00 AM Funeral with the Burial following at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S Eastern Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89123.

Anastasios was born to Stephanos and Theodora Kouris on January 9, 1920, in Lefkimmi, Kerkyra (Corfu), Greece . Anastasios is widowed to Elizabeth Pandis Kouris. Together they had five children Stephanos (deceased), Spyros (deceased), Theodora, George, and Kostantinos. In addition, he was blessed with seven (7) grandchildren.

Anastasios was born in the Greek Orthodox faith and lived most of his childhood and early adult years in Lefkimmi, Kerkyra. His father taught him the family grocery business bringing supplies from mainland Greece to the village using the family own boat during the time the Italian Army invaded Greece in 1940 from Albania, beginning the Greco-Italian War. The Greek Army was able to halt the invasion temporarily and was able to push the Italians back into Albania. The Greek successes forced Nazi Germany to intervene. After the end of the German occupation Anastasios enrolled in the Police Academy in Greece. From the academy he was stationed in the mountains of Halkidiki, Northern Greece to protect the villagers in the subsequent Greek Civil War (1946) against the Communist insurgents.

Much like the U.S. Civil War, the Greek Civil War tore families, and friends apart – brother against brother, father against son – families against families. It was this circumstance that tested the love of Anastasios and Elizabeth, each being from families of opposing ideologies. They also lived on opposite sides of the river. When Anastasios asked for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage in the Greek custom, he was not only rejected by Elizabeth’s brothers, he was threatened with physical harm. This did not however, stand in his way of true love.

In 1949, Anastasios was home on leave for a few days during which, he plotted an orchestrated kidnapping. With only a message and a few personal items, Elizabeth met Anastasios’ friend in a boat that carried her across the river to Anastasios’ arms. They lived happily in his father’s home, still owned by the family to this day in Corfu, Greece.

In 1968 the family moved to Athens, Greece, where they started a clothing business and raised their family until they moved to the United States in 1981. Anastasios became a U.S. Citizen.

Having already retired from Greece, Anastasios and Elizabeth moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they helped raise their grandchildren and he became a faithful member of Saint Johns The Baptist Greek Orthodox Church. Anastasios will always be remembered as an honorable, loving, generous man with very strong personal ethics. His home was always open to anyone in need.