EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Manolis Hajiantoniou passed away on July 17, almost seven months after his wife Kristen told The National Herald that a PET scan revealed a setback in his battle against cancer. She shared the sad news of her husband’s passing and thanked TNH for its coverage and support through these difficult years.

Hajiantoniou began his fight at Christmastime in 2014 when he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He said in his last interview with TNH in December 2017 that he was courageous for himself and his wife Kristen, and at the same time he tried to give courage to his daughter Maria who also suffers from cancer and underwent surgery at age 13 in the spring of 2015.

The late Manolis Hajiantoniou was originally from Karpathos, but grew up in Rhodes where he went to school. At the age of 18, he came to America and started working in restaurants, and for the last three decades he worked as a cook at Lyndhurst Diner, in Lyndhurst, NJ. It was there that he met Kristen who worked as a waitress and they fell in love.

In February 2014, their son, Giannis, was born. It was in autumn of the same year when the first signs of Manolis’ health problems emerged.

TNH and the Greek community helped to contribute some support to the family through their difficult times. Thoughts and prayers go out to the Hajiantoniou family. May his memory be eternal.