The death of Dan Georgakas, at the age of 83, deeply saddens us. And this, not only because for a number of years he was a regular columnist with The National Herald – although this certainly contributes to our sense of loss  – but also because he was a renowned man of letters and one of the leading researchers and writers on the history of our community.

His last column for TNH was published just a few days ago. Although he is a leftist, he expressed his disappointment with Biden. Its title was “The Failing Biden Presidency.” He concluded: “At present, the United States appears moribund.”

Interesting choice for the last word…

What worries me a lot is that this generation of intellectuals, children of immigrants with a special interest in Hellenism such as Charles Moskos, Harry Psomiadis, Harry Mark Petrakis, and Georgakas, is disappearing. It’s the same with that generation’s prominent leaders, such as Eugene Rossides, Ted Spyropoulos, Andy Athens, Nikos Mouyiaris – who when they ‘left’, left behind big gaps.

I know that none of us is irreplaceable. Out of nowhere, someone else sprouts from the fertile ground of and life goes on. However, some of them are not easy to replace.

Unfortunately those who study and write about our Community are not supported. The books sales are minimal.

Academic positions at universities are few. The result is that they can devote only a small part of their time to the study of our Community. But without them – and I must say without this newspaper – the history and study of the Greek-American community would be substandard.

And, of course, without this knowledge, our survival in this country would be much more difficult.

We say goodbye with gratitude to Dan Georgakas, a child of the Greek-American community, who was born in Detroit, fought with himself to find and define his identity, and in the end found the golden section: How to be a good American, but also a good Greek.

We also thank him for his articles in The National Herald – through which he revealed the integrity of his character, with the result that they were widely read, both by leftists and rightists.

We will miss him.