George C. Rodis Sr.

George C. Rodis Senior, SFC (US Army Retired), age 84, passed away on December 24, 2011. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts on May 12, 1927, he was one of eleven children of Costas and Georgia Rodopoulos. In 1942, at the age 15 he joined the Massachusetts State Guard and became a drill sergeant in 1944. In 1945, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corp. After basic training he was shipped to France and assigned to Germany six days later. He served in Germany until 1950 supporting the Berlin Airlift and Army of Occupation. He was called into combat again to serve in the Korean War in 1952 and the Vietnam War in 1963. During the latter part of his military career the Army capitalized on his food service and club management expertise assigning him the challenging tasks of restoring insolvent officer club systems quickly back to profitability - a skill he excelled at. Such assignments included the US Army Natick Laboratory, Natick, Mass, (1962) Fort Monroe Officer's Club, Hampton, Va. (1964), and Hilltop Hotel and Officer's Club, Robinson Barracks, Stuttgart, Germany (1966-68). He served his country proudly and retired honorably from the military in 1968. George was a Master Mason and life time member of the Meridian Lodge A.F. & A.M., Natick, Massachusetts. George always had a strong work ethic and was constantly busy. After he retired from the Army in 1968, he was hired as the New England Regional Manager of the Heugatile Carpet Corporation, Amsterdam with US headquarters in Kenilworth, N.J. Later he became a small business owner/operator for several companies. In the early 1970's he moved to Tarpon Springs, Florida where he established Commercial Floor Systems for over a decade. While in business, he attended and received his Associate of Arts degree from Saint Petersburg Community College in May 1978 at the age of 51. He subsequently moved to Clermont, Fla. and both he and his wife Anneliese opened the Driftwood Restaurant in the early 1980's, followed by Dimetri's Restaurant in DeBary, Florida in 1984. He finally settled in Deltona Florida where he resided since 1984. George was fluent in three languages- English, Greek, and German. He was a man of principle often writing letters to major companies attempting to make things better. He was a gourmet cook and baker and loved to prepare huge meals whenever family visited. He loved gardening. He enjoyed boats and deep sea fishing and took his children fishing in Gloucester, Mass and Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. He loved to tinker and fix things and really enjoyed garage sales. He was a very good handyman and often helped many of his friends and neighbors with projects. Everyone loved George and his family and friends will miss him dearly. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife of 62 years, Anneliese, parents, brothers James, Peter, and William Rodopoulos, and sisters Connie Barron and Marie DiDio and sister-in-law Gertrud Taylor. He leaves to cherish his memories; six children, George Jr. (Newport News, Va.), Steve and wife Annemarie (Yorktown, Va.), Nancy Bowen (Barbados), Gary and Sonjia (Charles Town, W. Va.), Ann Spriggs and husband Max (Maumelle, Ark.) and Michael (Madison, Ala.) and 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is survived by his sisters Helen Patrick (Bayside, N.Y.), Joanne Cottone (Salem, N.H.), brother Chris Rodis, (Boca-Raton, Fla.) and sister-in-law Margot Kline (Burnsville, Minn.). Visitation will be held on 29 December, between the hours of 7-8 p.m. followed by a memorial service until 8:30 p.m. at the Deltona Memorial Funeral Home, 1295 Saxon Blvd, Orange City, Florida. Military honors and Interment (cremation) will be held at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell, Fla. on 30 December at 1:30 p.m.