CULVER CITY, CA – George Tavoularis passed away on February 17. He was 85.

Born in the village of Karea in the heart of Mani, Greece, to Panayotis Tavoularis and Maria (Tsotakos), Tavoularis finished high school in Gytheio, and then enrolled in the Royal Hellenic Air Force Academy in Thessaloniki in 1954.

He immigrated to Canada in 1961 where he married his wife Maria. After 10 years, the couple and their three children moved to the United States, first to Illinois and then to Orange County, CA. Tavoularis worked for years in the restaurant industry and was known for his generosity and feeding the hungry after having survived the scarcity of the war and post-war era in Greece.

Tavoularis is survived by his wife, Maria, daughters Sperry and Kathy, son-in-law Pano Pappas, and granddaughters Daria and Taia. He was predeceased by daughter Zoe who was born premature, and son Peter (Panayotis) who passed away in 2020.

Services will be held at Saint John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 405 North Dale Street in Anaheim, CA. Viewing on Thursday, March 3, 5:30-6:30 PM and Trisagon at 6:30 PM. Funeral on Friday, March 4, 10 AM.

The American Hellenic Council of California released the following statement in memory of Tavoularis, urging support for the family through a GoFundMe campaign:

“The day before his 61st wedding anniversary, our friend Kathy Tavoularis’ father George unexpectedly passed away less than 24 hours of having a heart stent procedure that was supposed to be routine.

“George Tavourlaris was a child of World War II in Greece. He and his family were saved by America’s Marshall Plan and he made it his goal in life to give back to America for saving his. After coming to America he was a restaurateur donating food to the homeless and feeding runaways for free. The hungry child ended up feeding thousands of people throughout his life.

“Because of Tavoularis’ unexpected passing, Kathy and her mother are dealing with the cost of the funeral and family finances. Kathy has been there for everyone in her life and gives so much of her time to so many different causes, including serving as a Board Member in our organization in previous years from 2010 to 2014. Please consider helping the family deal with this tragedy by visiting the GoFundMe link: https://bit.ly/3MaCTiL created by family friends in George Tavoularis’ memory. Thank you in advance.”