Gavril Zaparegos

He was born on February 13, 1943, in Perikopi, Florina, Greece, to Simeon and Konstantina Zaparegos, and grew up in Aetos Greece.

If you knew Gavril, you knew he was a strong man. He was determined, resolute, and headstrong. Once he made a decision, he stood by it, and nothing was going to move him. That strength of will carried him through life. It gave him the courage to leave Aetos, Greece, in 1966 and move to Toronto, Canada, looking for a better life.

He settled in the Greek community along the Danforth, and not long after, Stamatia joined him so they could build that life together. They were married on May 21, 1967, at Panayia Church in downtown Toronto. This coming May would have marked 60 years of marriage — nearly six decades of building a family, moving countries, working, laughing, raising children, and simply doing life side by side. His love for Stamatia was beyond measure and beyond words.

Years later, after spending many vacations in Fort Lauderdale, Gavril decided Florida was where the family should be. He saw opportunity there and believed he could build a business and a future for them, so in 1979, they packed up and started over again. He started his own carpet business and worked hard, the way he always did.

Gavril was proud to be Greek, and he never did anything halfway when it came to his culture. He loved Greek music, Greek dancing, and especially dancing the Kotsari. He did not want to be somewhere in the middle of the line. Gavril liked to be right up front, arm raised, leading the dance.

Soccer was another lifelong love. He played goalkeeper as a boy in Greece, and years later he loved watching his own children play, especially his son, who followed in his footsteps as a goalie. He was a loyal Aris fan and could happily sit and watch soccer for hours.

He also gave much of his time to the Greek community. He was a longtime member of Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Lauderdale, a member of AHEPA, and a longtime member of the Macedonian Association of South Florida.

During the annual Saint Demetrios festival, Gavril somehow always ended up with a job that suited him perfectly — going around to the local Greek restaurants and collecting food donations. He knew people, he talked to everybody, and he had no problem asking for what the festival needed. If something needed to get done, he found a way to make it happen.

He had a heart of gold. He would give the shirt off his back to help his family or his friends, and he never expected anything in return.

But for all the things he was involved in, family was always the center of his life. He loved his children, and he absolutely loved his grandchildren. He followed their lives, their sports, their accomplishments, and all the little things in between. He was proud of the family he and Stamatia created and of the life they built from very little, first in Canada and then in Florida.

Gavril leaves behind his beloved wife, Stamatia; his three children, Petroula Kozmevski (Danny), Theodotta Alexandrakis (John), and Simeon Zaparegos (Maro); and his seven grandchildren, Sophia, Peter, Eireni, Georggia, Stamatia, Eleftheria, and Gabriela. He also leaves behind his sisters, Sandra Terzievski(Andy) and Doxa Karakatsis.

There is no way to sum up a man’s whole life in a few paragraphs, especially someone like Gavril. He could be funny, and he could be headstrong to the point of making everyone crazy, but that was part of who he was. He would give anything to the people he loved. He loved his family fiercely, loved being Greek, loved soccer, loved to dance, and loved being surrounded by the people and traditions that mattered to him.

He left Aetos as a young man searching for a better life. What he built became so much more than that — a marriage of nearly 60 years, three children, seven grandchildren, a community of lifelong friends, and a family whose lives are forever shaped by his.

His family will miss his strength, his voice, his opinions, his stories, his place at the front of the dance line, and simply knowing he was there. Most of all, Stamatia will miss the man who loved her beyond words.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Lauderdale, followed by the funeral service at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made to Saint Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.