Copyright (1966) Oakland Tribune

John G. Alfieris

Feb. 28, 1883 - Dec. 6, 1966

Trisagion services for John G. Alfieris, 83, retired Oakland restaurant operator and patriarch of the East Bay Greek community, will be held at 8 o’clock tonight at Grant Miller’s, 2850 Telegraph Ave., Oakland, 

Services will be held at 11:45 a.m. tomorrow at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland.

Mr. Alfieris, who sold his last downtown restaurant after suffering a heart attack in 1948, died Monday at his home, 203 Athol Ave., Oakland.He is survived by his wife, Mary, five children, 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Mr. Alfieris and his wife were born on the island of Kythera, off the southern coast of Greece. They were married in Egypt in 1903 and came to Oakland shortly before the 1906 earthquake and fire.

Soon after, he opened a candy store and cafe in the Fruitvale district of Oakland. For many years he was Northern California subscription representative for the California Greek Newspaper.

Mr. Alfieris directed or acted in many Greek dramas for Greek Orthodox church and other groups. He was co-founder and past president of the Hellenic Community Church, Oakland; past president and co-founder of the Kytherian Society of the West Coast: president, past district governor and charter member of the Greek American Progressive Association (GAPA), and member of AHEPA Chapter 171 of Oakland. 

Oakland Tribune: Dec. 1966