BOSTON – Cosmos Marandos of Nashua, NH is a second-generation Greek-American who was brought up with the values, traditions, and ethos of Orthodoxy and Hellenism – which shaped his reality. These values helped him to enjoy many instances of happiness in his life but also to cope with a great tragedy: His beloved thirty-year-old son Tory was killed sixteen years ago because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Tory a handsome, smart, and polite young man was the son of every parent’s dreams. He was working as a manager in restaurant-bar in Rhode Island that belonged to a relative. A dispute broke out at the store among customers, and one of them pulled out a gun and started shooting. Tory attempted to interfere to stop the gunman but unfortunately the bullets took his life.
His father, Cosmos, a long-time subscriber and reader of The National Herald, spoke for the first time publicly, agreeing to tell us the sad story, but first he spoke to us about his origins.

“My grandparents, on both sides, came from the village of Vithos, Macedonia, near Pendalofos, which is near Kozani. They immigrated here around 1912. As a child of two-and-a-half I was sent to live with my mother’s parents in Manchester, NH. I lived with them until I was six years old, so during my formative years, I learned Greek from my grandparents as they spoke little to no English. My grandparents, especially my Yiayia, brought me to church every Sunday and most Holy Days.”

He is an active a member of St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church since its inception, 1972. “I was on the St. Philip Parish Council for many years and eventually became the President of the Council, an honor which I still hold dear today,” he said. Cosmos has also been active in AHEPA since 1984.

He loves Greece. “I have been to Greece many times, but the most memorable is when we went as a family. Our children, Tory and Tara, were twelve and thirteen respectfully. Although it was not my first time there, I felt excited showing my children their heritage.”

Asked how he feels talking about Tory’s death, he explained, “the day Tory, my only son, died, I went with him. My wife was a school teacher and every morning before work, she would take a walk with another teacher friend before school. This particular day her friend asked if she heard about the shooting where Tory worked. She had no idea – so Lynda got on her phone and called Tory. No answer. She tried several more times during her walk, but still no answer. When she came home, she mentioned the shooting to me, so I turned on the television. The news announcer talked about the shooting but revealed no names. However, as the announcer talked, and although he revealed no names, there were subtle hints that I picked up, and I thought it might be Tory he was talking about. The more I listened to the announcer and the more we tried to call Tory with no answer, I started to think Tory was one of the victims. Finally, a picture of Tory appeared on the screen and mentioned his name as a victim of the shooting. It was then that I died. Several hours later, two police officers came to the house to tell us of what we already knew…Tory was dead.”

The still-grief stricken father continued: “For the next week or so, we had to prepare for Tory’s funeral. I remember sitting in my chair and staring at the television hoping there was a mistake. There was commotion in the kitchen with people coming over to assist us with plans for the funeral, etc. I just sat there. I could not believe this actually happened to our family. Why?”

Cosmos shared that, “Lynda and I would go to bed and we would hug each other with tears streaming down our cheeks until we fell asleep. I would not give this pain to my worst enemy. For the next ten years I would not talk about Tory. Lynda and I would be watching television and she’d say ‘do you want to talk about Tory’ and I would abruptly say, ‘no’. I could not bear the pain all over again. My only son gone forever.”

Every now and then his wife “would ask about talking of Tory and I would still say ‘no’. Fortunately, for Lynda, she was able to talk about Tory to anyone who would listen. She knew that healing required talking about it. I was not ready. I would go out by myself and drive around thinking of Tory, and as I drove, streams of tears came down my face. Lynda tried again and again to talk to me about Tory – but I could not. Ten years after Tory’s death, Lynda sort of semi-gave up on talking to me about Tory. Then one day she mentioned Tory and I responded, probably much to her surprise, after so many years of silence.”

Cosmos said that, “little by little, I was able to talk more of Tory, and the more I talked about him the easier it became to talk even more. People say, “time heals all wounds” and I add, “but the pain never goes away.”