WESTLAND, MI –
Gus Stavropoulos passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 16, 2024, surrounded by his loving family. He was predeceased by his parents and eight siblings.
Survived by his beloved wife of nearly 61 years, Maria (Cosma) and their 4 children Mark (Helen), Nicholas, Michael (Anastasia), and Denise Michalos (Thomas). He is also survived by the loves of his life, his grandchildren, Vethania Stavropoulos, Athena Stavropoulos, Constantine Stavropoulos, Konstandina Stavropoulos, Panagiotis Stavropoulos, Soteri Michalos (Niki), Vasiliki Michalos, Yianni Stavropoulos, Efiyenia Stavropoulos, Vethania Michalos, Kostantinos Stavropoulos, Eleni Stavropoulos, Konstandinos Michalos, and Andreas Stavropoulos; and many loving nieces, nephews and godchildren.
Born on July 27, 1937, in Anavriti, Nafpaktos, Greece, as the youngest of nine children of Stavroula and George Stavropoulos, he immigrated from Greece to the United States in 1949 at age of eleven, where he lived and worked with his family in Detroit. He later went on to graduate from George Trade School where he learned to become an accomplished tool and die maker. Through his training and hard work, Gus Stavropoulos built a group manufacturing related companies, with some 500 employees. The majority of the companies were sold in the late nineties; however, he remained active in a variety of business endeavors in the years that followed.
His love for his Hellenic heritage and for his beloved Greek Orthodox Church has always been expressed strongly not only through words but for his generous contributions to Hellenism and the Greek Orthodox Church. His lifetime participation has been recorded in numerous ethnic and religious events. He has been and will always be an example to follow for his generation and for the generations to come. He was very active in the Greek Orthodox Church, on both the local, national, and international level. He has held a series of positions within the lay leadership of the church, including Archon Depoutatos of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for over 34 years, Archdiocesan Council, the Orthodox Christian Mission Center, and the Leadership 100 Endowment Fund. In his local community, Gus served as the Metropolis of Detroit Council Vice Chairman and was the building committee chair and grand benefactor, along with his wife, the God parents for the Saints Constantine and Helen Church in Westland, Michigan. They are founding members and benefactors of the St. Katherine Church in Naples, FL. Some of his notable honors and awards include the Hellenic Heritage Award, and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.
Funeral Service was held on June 20, 2024, at Saints Constantine and Helen Church, in Westland, MI.
Memorial tributes may be made to the International Orthodox Christian Charities or Saints Constantine and Helen Church, honoring Gus’s memory and supporting causes close to his heart.
May his memory be eternal!
