GEORGE KREAREAS

May 14, 1928 – October 24, 2017

George Kreareas, 89, of North Canton, OH, passed away on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 after a courageous battle against cancer. He was predeceased by his parents, Nicolaos and Vasiliki (Columbanis) Kreareas, his adored son, Peter George Kreareas, sister Panayiota Kreareas, brother and sister-in-law, Spero and Mary (Karasarides) Kreareas, and recently, his brother-in-law Minos N. Geniatakis. George was born on May 14, 1928 and grew up in Canton, Ohio. He was quite the entrepreneur. By the age of 12 he started an ice cream business and was running it from the motor scooter that he designed and built himself. One of George's favorite hobbies was boxing. He won the Golden Gloves Championship in 1949 in three minutes. After the fight, he checked himself and said, "My nose and face still look good, I'm done with boxing." He graduated from McKinley High School in 1948 and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. In 1948, George starting working for the Ford Motor Company. One day at work, his co-worker Sax Sassos showed George a photo of Phanoula, Sax's cousin in Greece. Smitten, George and Phanoula began their love story by writing to each other. After months of writing, he flew out to Thessaloniki, Greece to meet Phanoula, where she was born. On August 2, 1959 George and Phanoula Georgiadiou were married in Thessaloniki, Greece. They honeymooned in Rome and began their beautiful life together. They happily celebrated 58 years of marriage on August 2, 2017. George retired from the Ford Motor Company in 1987 after 39 years of service. He was a member of the St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church, the Silver Liners and the Men's Club. He was extremely fond of his church and Greek heritage. George was also fond of desserts, specifically his chocolate ice cream. His family will cherish the memories they shared over ice cream at Milk and Honey in Canton. During his last few months, his family knew that he would always say yes to ice cream. He enjoyed travelling the world with his family. George was very proud of his children, grandchildren and his great-grandson, he loved each one of them greatly and had a wonderful relationship with each. His face would light up when they would visit him. They were inspired by his stories of running businesses in his youth and how he went after the woman of his dreams. He is survived by his loving wife Phanoula, daughter Nikki (Kreareas) Rossetti, son Christopher and Heather (Crowl) Kreareas. His five grandchildren include Alexandra and Nicole Rossetti, Sophia, Juliana, and Peter Kreareas, and his great-grandson, Brayden Johnson. He is also survived by his sister, Angeline (Kreareas) Geniatakis, who dearly loved George and sadly lost her beloved husband Minos exactly one week before him. George leaves behind many of his loving nieces and nephews. They all tremendously loved George and will miss him greatly. George was known for his charisma and heart of gold. He was the most selfless man who always looked out for his loved ones. He would tell his family that life is beautiful and he was very thankful for the wonderful life he had lived. During the last few months of George's life he was surrounded by his loving family and friends. There was never a time that George was alone nor a time when his hand was not being held. His family made a vow to never let him be alone and always have someone by his side throughout his illness. We would like to thank his nieces, Bess (Geniatakis) Fritz, who was like a sister to George, as well as Irene (Geniatakis) Kalaitsides, Stephanie (Geniatakis) Withers and his nephew/Godson, Peter George Geniatakis and all of their children who were there to comfort their beloved Uncle George throughout this time. George was also loved by his nephew and niece, Bill Kreareas and Sophie (Kreareas) Scheetz. We would also like to recognize all his dear friends, including Gust Diamant and Harry Vlahos who called and visited George regularly. A special thank you to his caring physician, Dr. Louis Shaheen, for the many years he looked after our beloved father. George, you were a wonderful husband, father, uncle, papou and friend, thank you for always being a positive influence on our lives. You were truly an inspiration. Heaven gained the most beautiful angel, we all truly adored you and we always will. Fly high blue eyes…

Family and friends will be received on Thursday, from 5 to7:30 p.m. and the Trisagion service at 7 p.m. at the Rossi Family Funeral Home. Funeral service will be 1:30 p.m. Friday at St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church with Rev. Dr. Nicholas V. Gamvas officiating. Interment will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. Because of George's great love for his Greek heritage and his church, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Haralambos Greek Orthodox Church.