Arthur Xanthos

Arthur is survived by his adoring wife Marie (nee’ Leahy); four children Arthur (Colleen nee’ Barry), Kieran (Shannon nee’ Beford), Stacy Pearce (Thomas), and Tara Santos (Scott); eleven grandchildren Andrew (Heather Mehne), Meghan, Mackenzie Rattigan (Dylan), Kiera, Connor, Arthur, Devin, Blake, Kyle, Brendan, and Alex; a brother Terry (Breda, deceased), and a sister Bessie Dozis (Peter). He is predeceased by his parents Panagiotis and Adonia (nee’ Yakoumakis), and his sister Aspacia. Papou was born on Henry Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan on August 25, 1941, attending P.S. 138 and then Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn. His childhood also involved several years living in Kefalonia, Greece following the 1953 earthquake there.

From the age of fourteen, Papou worked in his family’s restaurants. By fate he met the love of his life Marie, a newly arrived immigrant from Tipperary, Ireland, when she was a customer at one of these restaurants in the early 1960s. They got married in Brooklyn on December 7, 1963 and remained happily together to the day of his passing.

Over the next two decades Arthur and his wife raised four children (Arthur, Kieran, Stacy, and Tara) in Manhattan, working hard to send them all to college and graduate school. Papou left the restaurant world and in 1977, after taking extensive courses in mechanics and electronics, entered the building management industry. He spent the next 30 years of his work life as a resident manager at two of the premier residential buildings in Manhattan on East 72 Street, retiring to his “love shack” in Putnam County with his wife in 2009. His retirement years were filled with the pleasures of visits to and from adoring children and grandchildren, including birthdays, graduations, and weddings.

Those who knew Papou always say the same thing: what a lovely man. He could on the one hand deal successfully with the captains of industry to resolve a potential building catastrophe, and later the same day help one of his grandchildren put together a carpentry project. This might explain his favorite quote: “Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.”

Papou’s passion in life focused on his wife and family. He especially enjoyed conversing with his grandchildren, engaging in any discussion about food, tending his garden, feeding his birds, and above all – being with his wife Marie.

He is sorely missed and will never be forgotten.

Family and freinds are invited to visitation Tuesday, September 13, 2022 from 3:00 - 7:00 pm at Spadaccino and Leo P. Gallagher & Son, Community Funeral Home, 315 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, CT. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 10:30 - 11:15 am at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT. Interment to immediately follow at St. Rose of Lima Cemetery, Cherry Street, Newtown, CT.