Constantine "Dean" Aronis, D.D.S.

On August 23, 1929, God blessed Mary and Basile Aronis with their first-born son, Constantine "Dean".  He was preceded by his older sister Stacey and would be followed by his brother, Alexander.  All three children were born in Warren, Ohio where Basile worked as a tailor while Mary kept the house.  But times were difficult as Dean's birth coincided with the start of the Great Depression.  Mary and the children spent some of those difficult years in Greece while Basil continued to build his tailoring practice in Ohio.  He made personal and business connections at various kafenia where Greek Americans would congregate.

At the close of WWII Basile moved his family to Los Angeles where he would find a broader customer base.  With the money he earned during the wartime years he purchased some modest commercial stores on Sunset Boulevard, and purchased the home in which Dean would complete his senior year at Hollywood High School.

Though Dean was not much of a violinist he managed to be Concert Master of the Hollywood High orchestra.  But the real joy of his violin playing came years later when he would play Christmas Carols accompanied by his concert pianist wife.  They would host parties inviting neighborhood families to the celebration.  Dean would wear a cheerful Christmas tie, and when all the children were gathered, he would get out his violin and squeak away.  He was never happier.  His favorite was "Up On The House Top."  They were beautiful years…

After graduating from Hollywood High, Dean attended UCLA with dental school in mind.  Dentistry was suggested by his mother when Dean was in the ninth grade.  He held that suggestion close.  It turned out to be a wise suggestion as Dean would find professional satisfaction therein and be highly regarded by his peers and patients.

In his final year at UCLA, he received a letter of acceptance from Case Western Reserve School of Dentistry.  He would describe this letter as the most important of his life setting him upon the career path his mother had suggested so many years prior.  After four years of dental school, he served three years in the U.S. Army while stationed in Germany.  He fell in love with German automobiles and in particular Porsche.  In 1969 he bought his own, and drove it at various racetracks in Southern California.

Upon his return from Germany, he passed the California Dental Board and was accepted for a fellowship at the University of Oregon.  However, when the director suddenly passed, he was unsure of his next step.  His brother Alex encouraged him to phone the University of Michigan, and by serendipity, the head of the department answered.  Learning of his colleague's death in Oregon, the department-head welcomed Dean into the two-year post-doctoral prosthetics program at Ann Arbor Michigan.  Thereafter he passed the national board in prosthetics, moved back to Los Angeles, and started teaching at USC while building his private practice.

During this time his sister Stacey pointed out that a certain girl in the Greek community was still single.  Peggy and Dean were married at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in 1964.  They had a daughter, Melina, followed by a son, Vasili, named after Dean's father, Basile.  When Melina was four years old she was diagnosed with leukemia at a time when there was little hope for a cure.  Tragically, she passed away a year later.

Peggy and Dean ended up with two boys, "the two best boys in Los Angeles," as our father would say.  We understood that his praise was not objective, but an expression of his love.  And the same was true with respect to our mother.  He had innumerable names of affection for her.  He had innumerable ways in which he expressed his love for the three of us, and this, more than anything, is his enduring legacy.  He was a beautiful and humble man with a gentle soul.  He was a dutiful and loving son, a devoted and loving husband, and a hardworking, generous, kind, and loving father.

As the Trisagion Prayers for the Departed request, may he rest, along with his beloved wife and daughter, "in a place of light, in a place of green pastures, in a place of refreshment in which pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away..." We can think of no man more worthy of such a request.

Dean is succeeded by his two boys and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Peggy Aronis and siblings Stacey and Alexander Aronis.

Both services will be at Saint Sophia Cathedral, 1324 S. Normandie Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90006. Trisagion at 5pm on Sunday, November 30, 2025, and the funeral will be at 10am on Monday, December 1, 2025. Burial following a Forest Lawn - Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Avenue, Glendale, CA 91205.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his name to Saint Sophia Cathedral.

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