Peter "Pete" Gus Demetriades

He was born in Gaston County, North Carolina, on September 11, 1939, to the late Gus and Athena Demetriades of Gastonia.

Pete graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1961 after being elected Vice President of the student body. While at Tech he met his darling Penny who he married on April 21,1963 and went on to share 62 years of devoted partnership. Together they built a life centered on faith, family, friends and community and were blessed with two children Athena and Gus.

Pete used his BS in Industrial management degree to found Atlas Mills in 1966. Then he built a manufacturing plant for American manufacturing and later he started ETC of Henderson in 1978. He and Penny proudly operated ETC of Henderson for 40 years serving the janitorial industry until its closure in 2018 after a devastating fire in 2017, creating not only a successful company with several patents but lasting friendships with employees and customers who became family. Pete loved people. He enjoyed sharing stories, solving problems and serving others.

He served on several organization boards including the board of his beloved Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church as well as the Archdiocesan Council of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Pete was invested as an Archon (Skevophylax) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate for his faithful service to the church, the highest honor bestowed upon a layman in the Greek Orthodox Church. Pete loved the Lord.

Pete is survived by his beautiful loving wife of 62 years, Penny Demetriades; his daughter, Athena Hartwig and husband Tony; his son, Gus Demetriades and wife Jayme; two grandchildren, Kyle Wilson and Stephan Nii; his brother, Gus Demetriades and wife Vanessa; his sister, Despina Demetriades; his nephews, Charles Demetriades, George Demetriades, and Mathew Demetriades and Chris Demetriades.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, George Demetriades and his nephew, Gus Demetriades.

Pete should be remembered for his character, work ethic and love for others and God.

Visitation will be held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's Street, Raleigh, NC 27605, on Friday, March 20, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.  

A funeral service will be held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 5000 Lead Mine Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612, on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at Raleigh Memorial Park, 7501 Glenwood Ave., Raleigh.   

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Shriners Children's Hospitals (www.shrinerschildrens.org/en) as Pete was a Shriner, or to Tunnels to Towers (ww.t2t.org) in Pete’s name.