Demetrios K. Syrengelas peacefully passed away on August 9, 2022 with family by his side. He was 88 years old.

Demetrios was born in Nestani (also known as Tsipiana), Arkadia, Greece on December 27, 1933. He was the oldest of six children born to Konstantinos G. Syrengelas and Athanasia K. Syrengelas (Arvanitis). He came into the world during challenging times and was shaped by his sense of duty to his family, tending to his family's fields and livestock from his childhood.

He had a thirst for knowledge and love of learning. Despite extreme poverty, the Second World War followed by the Greek Civil War, and the expectation that the as the oldest child he would tend to the family's needs ahead of his own, he graduated from high school a highly educated young man.

Sponsored by their maternal uncles, Sam and George Arvanitis, Demetrios and his brother George set sail on December 1, 1951, for the United States of America. They slept on bunk beds in the ship "Nea Ellas" until their arrival in New York seventeen days later, on December 18, 1951, where they were processed through Ellis Island before boarding a train bound for Southern California.

Demetrios began his new life in America as a dishwasher at his uncles' iconic seaside restaurant, Sam's Seafood, in the community of Surfside, CA. Despite being born and raised in the rugged mountains of the Peloponnese, he quickly developed a love of seafood. He took jobs with a handful of wholesale seafood processors before he eventually ventured out on his own and, in 1958, purchased South Coast Sea Foods Co., Inc. from its prior owner.

Jim, as he was known in the seafood industry, was destined to achieve the American dream. He spent many years working incessantly, through many ups and many downs, to grow the company. Along the way, he granted partnership to his brother Athanasios in 1965 and, in 1973, his brothers, George, Andreas and Vasilios, as well as his brother-in-law, George Diamond. The company flourished and provided comfortable lives to all families. His legacy lives on with his children now operating the company.

In 1966 at his sister Eleni's wedding, Demetrios met the love of his life, Matina Treantafelles. He took her to a Dodgers game on their first date. Three months later, they were engaged. They married on January 29, 1967 and spent 55 devoted years together as husband and wife and as dedicated parents to their four children. He was a loving and proud grandfather, "pappou", to eight grandchildren, who were the apple of his eye.

Despite having no formal education in America, Demetrios developed an impressive command of the English language. He spoke and wrote eloquently. He was an intellectual through and through. Sometimes, we wished he weren't quite as intellectually driven as he was, as many conversations ran in to the wee hours of the night…and even the mornings occasionally. That said, it was so easy to lose track of time, as a question about something that seemed so simple could turn into the equivalent of a philosophy lecture. Agree or disagree, there was a lesson to be learned in every conversation with Dad.

Dad was passionate about Greek folk music. His passion stemmed from the traditional Demotika folk songs that his father masterfully played as a travelling musician in Nestani and other surrounding villages. Like his father, he too mastered the klarino, with a "k" (and make no mistake, it's a klarino and not a clarinet) in his youth. Dad continued to feed his passion for playing Greek folk music when he arrived in America, playing at social functions for the Greek community such as wedding and baptismal banquets. Growing up, we all have fond memories of Dad playing in his home studio (i.e. the downstairs bathroom)…during school nights…and every night he fancied…which was at least seven days of the week.

He manufactured his own music. As a young boy, he repurposed an aluminum tube that he salvaged from a collection of parts from the wreckage of a downed German aircraft that were brought to the village. Cutting holes into the tube based on his knowledge of how a flute worked, he created his first musical instrument. It was one of his most cherished possessions, and he played it when tending to livestock and throughout his life.

As if the woodwind family weren't enough, Dad expanded his musical prowess into stringed instruments. He learned bouzouki, lute, and guitar. As he focused more on Greek island folk music, he fell in love with the sound of the santouri. Of course…..he had to learn how to play one. However….he quickly realized he couldn't learn to play it unless he built one himself. One led to many….

Some things that he delved into, like making musical instruments, he mastered. Some things, well, let's just say he should have left alone. We have found A LOT of broken electronics tucked away in almost every corner of the house. We will probably keep making discoveries for a while.

Soccer was another passion. He enjoyed playing and was even more engaged with the strategic side of the game. He coached for several years. His crowning achievement as a coach was organizing a travel team that toured throughout Europe. The names of the teams he coached, "Olympians" his hands-down favorite team name, all referenced his Hellenic roots… and of course… just about all the team jerseys were blue and white, like the colors of the Greek flag.

Nobody could repurpose the almost infinite ways to wear blue like dad. His closet looked like the sky. Although unconfirmed, it is believed that this is one of the reasons he liked the Dodgers, and not because he went to a game on his first date with his future wife.

At least in our view, Dad was one of the most sentimental beings ever to have graced this earth. He wrote heartfelt poetry on whatever paper he could find; airline napkins were a favorite of his. In 1995, he wrote a 26-stanza poem about his boyhood dog and beloved companion, Redzo. A few years later, we found ourselves framing Dad's watercolors of his black lab, Andromeda or simply "Andy", his sidekick and santouri back-up singer/howler that had dibs on riding shotgun anywhere Dad drove. Any note or card written to Mom was incredibly loving and romantic. A few weeks before falling ill, Dad gave Mom a small box of See's candies with a note in which he wrote, simply, "To: My Only Love….Because I love you forever….Your Demetris." Notes to his children and grandchildren were written from the depths of his heart. Notes from his family were filed away neatly, each in its own folder, and kept locked in a file cabinet that contained his most precious and sensitive documents.

Dad was passionate about his Greek heritage and culture. He participated in our Greek Orthodox Church's parish council for many years, and he particularly enjoyed his work with the Pan Arcadian Federation of America, where he made many life-long friends.

Dad was his own renaissance man. He lived life on his own terms. As difficult as it is to lose any loved one, it is a source of comfort to know that he couldn't have left this earth in a more peaceful manner, just as he wished.

We all miss him very much, more than we could have ever imagined.

Demetrios K. Syrengelas is survived by his wife, Matina; four children, Athanasia Syrengelas, Konstantinos "Dino" (Aphrodite) Syrengelas, Zoe (Steve) Sidell and George (Georgia) Syrengelas; his eight cherished grandchildren, Demetri G. Syrengelas, Teddy G. Syrengelas, Stamatina K. Syrengelas, Katerina Maria Sidell, Demetri K. Syrengelas, Sophia Matina Sidell, Alex G. Syrengelas, and George K. Syrengelas; his siblings George K. Syrengelas, Eleni "Helen" Diamond, Vasilios "Bill" K. Syrengelas; he is preceded in death by his siblings Athanasios "Tom" K. Syrengelas and Andreas "Andy" K. Syrengelas.

The following services will be held at Saint John Greek Orthodox Church, 405 North Dale Street, Anaheim, CA 92801: Trisagion on Friday, August 19, 2022 at 7:00pm; funeral on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 10:30am. The funeral will be followed by a burial at Rose Hills Cemetery, 3888 Workman Mill Road, Whittier, CA 90601. After the burial, please join the family for a makaria lunch at Saint John Greek Orthodox Church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Demetrios' memory be made to Saint John Greek Orthodox Church.

Arrangements under the direction of Chapman Funeral Homes - Mary Harmon, owner. Toll free (855) 628-0447.

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Obituary notice for Chapman Funeral Homes. Please visit www.chapmanfuneraldirectors.com .

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