George Coroneos
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Coroneos euology all pages s.pdf
GEORGE CORONEOS was born in Piraeus, Greece on 22 April 1922. His parents were Panagiotis Coroneos and Aphrodite (nee Coroneos) from Karavas, Kythera, where the family spent many months of the year. Their "paratsoukli" (nickname) was "Faganas". George was the youngest of 8 children. His father was an exporter of Greek produce to America and was aboard ship most of George's childhood.
In 1936 George came to Australia to live in Taree with his sister Froso and her husband George Zantiotis and to be close to his brother, Petros. George then went to Forster where he worked shucking dozens of oysters a day. It was there that he acquired his love of oysters and seafood. After some time George worked in a variety of small country towns in New South Wales where he gained much experience in milk bars as a kitchen hand and cook. George then served in the Australian army for 4 years and became an Australian citizen on discharge. In 1952 George went back Greece for 12 months to spend time with his parents and siblings.
On 21 June 1953 George was introduced to the the love of his life, Maty Tzortzopoulos at a family gathering in Sydney and on 10 January 1954 George and Maty were married at the first Greek Orthodox Church in Sydney "Agia Triada". They lived in Lane Cove for a few years where they had their 2 children Aphrodite (Venus) and Mina (Michael) and owned the Barber's shop in Chatswood. During this time George was appointed as a Justice of the Peace in recognition of his upstanding service to the community.
In 1960 George and Maty moved to Crookwell and purchased the Poulos Cafe where they stayed for 10 years. George and Maty took their children for a holiday to Greece in 1971 to meet their family. They succeeded in imparting their own love for Greece into their children's hearts. Upon returning from Greece, George and Maty moved to Coogee where they lived until Maty passed away on 14 April 2011.
George and Maty were totally devoted to each other during their 57 years of marriage. They were very romantic and always held each other's hand. George and Maty lived life to the fullest and had many wonderful experiences travelling to Greece, Europe and Maty's favourite destination, Hawaii.
After Maty passed away, George was devasted. He went to live with his daughter Venus, her husband Philip and their sons Giorgio and Kosta in Mascot. George was constantly surrounded with love, respect and appreciation from all his family, including his son Michael, daughter-in-law Claudia and grandson, Mark. In 2012 Venus, Michael and Claudia took George for a holiday to Greece to see his only remaining sister and the rest of the family. He was very grateful to have had the opportunity to fulfill this dream and of staying in the family home in Karavas.
George was a warm, kind and sociable person. He loved dancing and after the war won competitions at the Trocadero for the "Jitterbug". He danced a fabulous "Rock and Roll" even up to his late 80s. George was extremely generous both with his time and money and was a volunteer at a number of charitable institutions including Meals on Wheels. He was an active member of the Greek RSL always marching on Anzac Day with Maty by his side. George attended the monthly meetings and had the role of internal auditor during the last few years. George also had a passion for lawn bowls and was a regular player at the South Coogee Bowling Club where he made many new friends and won a number of championships. George was a proud and independent man. He had a sharp mind until the end and was always keen to learn new things. George found it easy to master the latest technology such as programming Foxtel and using his iPhone. He enjoyed playing tavli and driving and was able to do both until his last days.
George will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
