Stefanos Gikas

(May 8, 1931-May 20, 2019)

SCARBOROUGH - Stefanos Gikas, 88, died peacefully at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House with his family by his side on Monday, May 20, 2019. He was born on May 8, 1931 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Athanasios and Olga Gikas. At the age of four, his parents moved to Biddeford, Maine. When he was old enough to work, he held various jobs. His first job was peeling and slicing potatoes for French fries for $2.50 at Maine Castle. Stefanos built his own shoe shine box and shined shoes until one day the Navy was in town, and he made $8.25. At the age of fifteen, his family moved to Munjoy Hill in Portland. He attended Portland High school and graduated in 1949. He worked at his Uncle Nick’s grocery store for two years, (Nick’s Market). In 1950 the Korean War started. He enlisted in the Air Force. Stefanos was classified as 1-A. His skills were in communications, teletype, Morse code and the switchboard. He served his tie in various locations and in Japan. Whenever he passed the American flag, Stefanos would salute the flag. Following his service, Stefanos and his brother George worked at George’s Variety on Pine Street in Portland, Maine. All the employees from Mercy Hospital enjoyed his Italians and homemade meatballs. In 1958 he met his love of his life, Kassiani Hasiotis, at a dance and he inquired who the lady was dancing. He liked her dancing and they became talking and the next question was can you cook like your mother? They married on June 15, 1958. They lived on Sheridan Street and had their children while they lived on Brighton Avenue. The cousins and dads would enjoy playing rummy for quarters. There were many card game nights, boxing nights at the Expo and Scarborough Down nights. Stefanos was a member of the Kora Temple in Lewiston, Maine and attended often in his early years. In 1973 Stefanos leased a business called Eddie’s Variety for twenty years and moved to Rustic Lane in North Deering. Stefanos would trust people and run tabs, if they couldn’t afford their purchases and customers would come by to just say hello, just to talk to him or hear his stories and play dollar games. His employees enjoyed working with him and they were extremely loyal and remained close throughout the years. He played Poker with his North Deering pals. From 1992 to the present he has been living at Pine Point Beach in Scarborough. He also served on the parish council at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Portland and you would find him slicing vegetables for the Greek Festival. His home was a home of entertainment and watching his Red Sox. He and his wife and friends would make many trips to Greece and they liked to travel. He contributed to the Politsiani Society. Stefanos was proud of his family and would always say he never had any regrets and that he did the best he could to support his family and children. He will be remembered for his gentleness, kindness, sense of humor, story teller and he was proud of being a veteran. He was very social and enjoyed visitors and talking about the old days, and he enjoyed his war and classic movies. He could cut the rug, dancing to Glen Miller tunes.

The family would like to thank Drs. Reynolds, Zee and Zuckerman and also the visiting nurses, VA, and Hospice for their gentle care and the Scarborough Police and Fire Departments for their continued support during his hard days suffering from COPD.

Stefanos leaves behind his daugther, Olga (Fr. Dean) Hountalas, and sons Tim and Arthur Gikas (Dina) and seven grandchildren, (Chris, Steve, Stephan, Anna, Athan, Costa, and Micah Gikas).

Friends and family are invited to share their memories and offer their condolences by visiting Stefanos’ online guestbook at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com

Donations can be made to Holy Trinity Church, in memory of Stefanos Gikas.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a time of visitation on Thursday, May 30, 2019 from 5pm to 8pm at Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Friday, May 31, 2019 at 11am at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 133 Pleasant St., Portland. A committal will immediately follow at Forest City Cemetery. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., Portland, Maine, 04103. 775-3763.