George N. Kalivas fell asleep in the Lord on Holy Saturday - April 19th, 2014 in Glendale, California after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Pota (Panagiota, née Sipsas) and his children, Nickolas, Anastasia and Elias. The Trisagion service will be held at St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Church in Pasadena, CA on Tuesday, April 22nd at 7pm. The funeral will take place on St. George's Day, April 23rd at 11am at The Life-Giving Spring Monastery in Dunlap, CA. A 40-day memorial service will be held at St. Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 25th. The family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made either to St. Anthony's Church, to The Life-Giving Spring Monastery, or to St. Sophia Cathedral.

A Life Full of Love and Gratitude

George was born in 1928 in the village of Kokkino, Greece. He would have been 86 years old on May 1st. George was always very proud of his village which is located near the top of Mt. Lykodemos in the prefecture of Messinia in the Southwestern Peloponnese. Due to WWII and tough economic times, he wasn't given the opportunity for much formal schooling but he had a natural ability with languages, music, and business. In his youth, besides learning to speak some Italian from some friendly soldiers who were hiding up in the mountain after the chaos of Mussolini's invasion, George worked hard on his father's farm. To make the long hours of work more pleasant, he enjoyed singing his favorite Klephtic songs (Greek Folk ballads). George was blessed with a strong, beautiful voice which was perfectly suited to this type of music. One of his important jobs from a young age was to walk from village market to village market to sell his father's newly born piglets. He usually got a good price since he was naturally friendly and had good business sense.

After serving in the Greek military, George decided that he wanted to take the chance to better himself in America. He envisioned this to be a short term move. Even after he was married and his first two children were born, George thought that his stay in the U.S. was only temporary. When the eldest child, Nick, turned five and his wife Pota went to enroll him in Kindergarten, George objected: What for? Soon we'll return to Greece! Needless to say, Nick was enrolled and the family ended up staying permanently in the United States. George was forever nostalgic for his village and he enjoyed sharing stories of his life there. However, he would always be quick to tell anyone who asked, that he never regretted coming to and staying in America, because he truly appreciated the opportunities that this country offered him to live a more comfortable life and to raise a family in a way which offered many possibilities.

George was deeply grateful to his uncle Harry Apostol for helping him to immigrate to Los Angeles in August 1955 and for the help that he received when he was first starting out. He also loved and appreciated all his Greek-American relatives – the uncles, aunts, cousins and their families in Los Angeles and Wisconsin.

Shortly after coming to Los Angeles, George found employment at the landmark Van de Kamp's Bakery on Fletcher Drive. He enjoyed his job and worked very hard there until his retirement. At Van de Kamp's, he worked alongside other men and women, many of whom were immigrants like himself from countries across Europe and the world. George always took the opportunity to learn the basic words of greeting and conversation in his co-workers' native languages. One co-worker was a fellow Greek named Evans Kitsigiannis. Soon after meeting each other they realized that they had an important connection back in Greece. It turns out that Evans knew George's brother Theodore. The two had met in hospital where they were both recovering from war wounds. Evans was to become George's best man at his wedding and subsequently the Godfather of his firstborn child. Evans, who soon left his job at Van de Kamps to pursue a career in real estate, fueled George's dream to became a successful property owner.

The greatest event in George's life according to him was when he met and then married his wife Pota. They were introduced at St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles and were married by Pota's uncle, Father Anthony Sipsas at Saint Barbara's Greek Orthodox Church in Santa Barbara, California on October 4th, 1959. The newlyweds had purchased a home in Glendale, California and it was in Glendale that George and Pota raised their family.

Soon after their wedding, George welcomed Pota's siblings who also wanted to come to the United States to work and study. One by one George and Pota sponsored their relatives who wished to come to America. First Pota's brother George came to study at UCLA, then her brother Pantelis came, later her sister Constantina and finally her eldest brother Niko. George loved having his wife's relatives near. The Kalivas, Sipsas, and Baliotis familes all lived within blocks of each other. In 1974, the final member of the Sipsas family was welcomed: Pota's mother Eleni came to be with her children in Glendale after her husband Elias had passed away.

The time had now come for George and his wife to bring over George's nephews. George's beloved brother, Theodore, had five sons: Niko, Stelio, Dimitri, George and Peter. Four of the five Kalivas boys immigrated with the help of George and Pota and established themselves in Southern California. George dearly loved all his nephews and they in turn loved him greatly and saw him as a second father. Because of all the help that George provided to his brother's family and his wife's family, he was fondly referred to as "the Patriarch."

George did all he could to make sure that his children were well educated. When the children were young he gladly paid for private music lessons and he took his turn driving the car pool of kids to Greek School on Saturdays. George provided the means for his three children to attend UCLA and he also supported them when they all went on to graduate studies: Nick and Elias at Oxford University in England, and Anastasia at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. One of George's proudest moments was seeing his son Nickolas receive a doctorate from Oxford.
Besides his family and his work, George was devoted to his faith. He was an active member of St. Sophia Cathedral where he served on the Parish Council for years. George with his wife raised their children to love and grow in their faith. He was proud that his wife and children served the church in various ways. His wife Pota served in St. Sophia's Philoptohos. His son Nick served in the Altar. His son Elias was the cathedral's Choir Director. And his daughter Anastasia was Pastoral Assistant at St. Sophia and also at St. John the Divine in Florida.

In addition to St. Sophia, George and his wife were also members of St. Nectarios church in Covina and St. Anthony's church in Pasadena. George also loved St. Nicholas Ranch and The Life-Giving Spring Monastery in central California. He visited there often, eventually buying a house in Dunlap so that he could relax near this prayerful environment.
George was a man who always wanted the best for everyone. He loved seeing other people succeed. Their success gave him joy and encouraged him to also strive to better himself. He had many friends who loved him as well. They loved him for his smile, his songs, his good nature.
George joyfully gave his all to his immediate family and to his large extended family. Now he has gone to be with the other beloved members of the family who preceded him in death: his parents, Nicholas and Anastasia; his in-laws Elias and Eleni; his brother Theodore; his sister-in-law Vasiliki; his brother-in-law George; his great-nephew Theodore and others.

His beloved wife Pota, his children and the remaining family will miss him greatly, but they are consoled by the hope of the Resurrection. George was blessed to pass away on the holiest day of the year, just hours before the Lord's Resurrection. May "God grant him rest in a place of light, in a place of repose, in a place of refreshment, where there is no pain, sorrow, or suffering."