Asimakis S Skarmoutsos

A prayer service for Asimakis will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2024 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 1260 Davis St, San Jose, CA 95126. A funeral service will occur Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM, 1260 Davis st, San Jose, CA 95126. A committal service will occur Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at 2473 - Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 300 Curtner Ave, San Jose, CA 95125.

Asimakis Spiros Skarmoutsos passed away on February 20th, 2024, at the age of 82. He has left a huge void in so many of our lives. He will be missed most by his daughters, Eleni and Niki; his grandchildren, Porter, Athina and Sotiris and his son in laws, Steve and Scott. He was an unforgettable character to all who met him.

Asimakis (Mike) was born on April 20th,1941 in the mountain village of Abliani, Greece, during World War II. His mother, Spiridoula Bakas Skarmoutsos, had escaped to the mountains to hide from the invading Germans and Italians. She died just days after he was born, so he was nursed by other women with babies in the village. His father, Spiros Skarmoutsos, died a couple years later. Mike was then raised by his Aunt, Eleni Botas, and other extended family in Aitoliko, on the Ionian coast of central Greece. He has one sister, Vasiliki, who was raised with another family. In the time after their mother died, their father remarried and had another son, his half brother, Spiros.

At around eight years old, Mike began working on the family farmland in the village and had to drop out of school. Food was not plentiful, and he did what he needed to survive. He told stories of looking for bird nests with eggs and made traps to catch birds to eat. He carried this work ethic and drive to survive throughout his entire life. When he was 18, he moved to the big city of Athens to make his way in the world. He sold postcards to tourists and was a taxi driver. He thought he was the best driver in the world. Riding in the car with him was always an adventure! During his time in Athens, Mike met Joy, who was traveling through Europe. They fell in love, got married and moved to California in 1969, where Mike worked on acquiring the American dream.

He started out working as a busboy at Zorba’s in San Jose. Since he was so handsome, and had the greatest mustache, he was recruited to work as a waiter and host at the Balkan Village in Los Altos. As he and Joy saved money, they began to buy rental properties around the Bay Area. Everything they did was for their children and grandchildren. Growing up orphaned and poor, he wanted to make sure his children would never know what that felt like.

Mike loved to cook for his family and friends. They would celebrate holidays and life events with big parties. His specialty was roasting whole lambs. He also loved to fish with friends on the beach for surf perch and on the pier in Santa Cruz for anchovies.

Mike was not always the easiest person to deal with, but he had determination, and nothing would stop him from doing what he wanted. He had the kind of presence that could light up a room or suck all the air out of it, for better or worse. He was a man of his word. If you needed his help, he would be there without question. He had so much pride, honor, integrity, and charisma. He always told his girls that he was Superman. He loved to work and never complained about soreness or pain, up until the very end. It is hard to believe that time would catch up to him, but losing his wife, Joy, seemed to take the wind out of his sails. She was his life line and connection to the written world. As much as we will miss him, we can remember that his spirit and memory will always be with us.