Eleftherios Beikoussis

PLAISTOW, NH – Eleftherios V. (“Lefteri”) Beikoussis, 89, A loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Plaistow, NH on Thursday, September 24.

First and foremost, he was the loving and caring husband of Marina E. (Milidakis) Beikoussis, whom he adored and to whom he had been married for 60 years. Born in Filiates, Ipirus, Greece, on or about August 20, 1931, he was the fifth of seven children of the late Vasilios and the late Fotini (Lianou) Beikoussis but essentially was the baby of the family because the younger twins had died close to their birth. He attended school through the sixth grade in the local village school in Filiates, but even though he was a very good student, he did not go on to high school as it was 25 miles away in a larger town and he did not have the means to get there. As a young boy, he survived the Italian invasion of his village in the early part of World War II, fleeing his family home for several months.  After returning to their home, he performed odd jobs first for the Italian soldiers and then for the Germans in return for their small meal scraps. Otherwise, he would not have had anything to eat due to the severe famine caused by the war.  After the war, he eventually moved to Athens hoping to find a job. There he apprenticed as a tailor and met Marina, whom he courted for several years before marrying her on February 28, 1960. They sold part of her dowry, a small parcel of land in Ilioupolis, Athens, Greece, to finance a tailor shop in downtown Athens. He owned his tailor shop for seven years, and it was successful enough to hire an assistant. He enjoyed the creativity of sewing suits, and many of his former clientele from Athens raved that he made the best suits they had ever owned. However, he wanted a better life and education for his two daughters and dreamed of emigrating to the United States to earn enough money to be able to return to his beautiful Athens to continue his tailor business more comfortably and to give back to his country of which he was very proud. That dream became a reality when he was able to obtain a visa as a tailor to work in a garment factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he and his family moved on August 3, 1969. From there, he and his family moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, to be close to his cousin, the late Sophia Venetis, where he worked at Table Talk Pies in Kelley Square, as a dishwasher at a local restaurant and also ran a small tailor business out of his home all at the same time.

In 1973, Eleftherios and his wife Marina purchased Wayland House of Pizza with a partner, and a year later they sold their share and purchased Steve’s House of Pizza in Haverhill, MA, which they owned until 1999. Eleftherios was very active in his church in Haverhill, Holy Apostles Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, where he served as a parish council member for several years and as the chanter, taking after his father who also had been a chanter in their village church. He also served as the chanter for several years in the 1990’s at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Andover, MA. He and Marina never moved back to Greece, but after retirement they were able to spend their summers in Greece with friends and family. Eleftherios was a devoted and generous husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend and deeply cared about those around him and helping those in need. He could not pass someone asking for money without handing them at least ten dollars, and sometimes a lot more, and he was very generous to his daughters, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, nieces and friends. In addition to his wife Marina, who was the love of his life, he is survived by his children; Eirini Beikousi of Haverhill, MA; Bess Beikoussis Gorman and her husband David of Andover, MA, three adoring  grandchildren who were the apple of his eye; Aleksey Eleftherios Gorman of Charleston, South Carolina, Alexander John Gorman of Andover, MA, and Olga Maria Gorman of Andover, MA, and many nieces and nephews in Greece. He was predeceased by his sisters Kaliopi and Angeliki and his brothers Giorgos, Apostolos, and the unnamed twins.

Visiting hours will be held Tuesday, September 29, in the Driscoll Funeral Home, 309 S. Main Street, Haverhill from 4:00 to 7:00 PM. Services will begin Wednesday in the funeral home at 10:00 AM. Funeral Service in the Holy Apostles Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 154 Winter Street, Haverhill at 11:00 AM. Burial will follow in Linwood Cemetery, Haverhill. Please note to wear face coverings and social distancing measures will be in place. Those wishing to make contributions in Eleftherios’s memory in lieu of flowers can make them to Holy Apostles Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church in Haverhill or Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Andover at www.holyaposteleshaverhill.org  and www.andoverorthodox.org For guestbook, please visit www.driscollcares.com

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