John N. Davros

A man of incredible strength and determination, John Nickolas Davros lived the dream of countless people. With patience and perseverance, he came to America as a young man to build a better life for himself and his family. He overcame tremendous odds and experienced the joy of seeing his loved ones grow to become healthy, happy, and successful. John was born on January 1, 1921, in Matsagra, Greece, the sixth son of Nickolas and Georgia (Limberopoulos) Davros. John's parents were farmers and had already endured the loss of four young sons by the time John was born. Only one brother, Athanasios, survived. There was no running water in their village and they used wells originally dug by the Romans. John was sometimes lowered into the well to send stones up in the bucket in order to make the well deeper. Sadly, Nickolas died when John was only seven. John attended public school through the fourth grade, then had to quit in order to work. He headed out into the fields to gather straw and hay with enough bread and onions to last for several days, sleeping under the stars huddled next to his donkey for warmth. In 1939, Adolf Hitler initiated his plan for conquering all of Europe by invading Poland. After fighting off an Italian invasion in 1940, Greece was finally overpowered in April of 1941 by German forces. John and many other young men from his village were taken prisoner, held hostage to bully the village into providing food for the soldiers. Twice, John was forced to dig his own grave and then stand over it at gunpoint until the soldiers were given what they wanted. John learned to cook and cut meat while he was a prisoner. On October 12, 1944, Greece was liberated from the Nazis and John was soon released. He kept his cup and dish as reminders of what he had endured, symbols of victory, perseverance, and hope. Although World War II ended in 1945, trouble continued in Greece. A civil war broke out and John was drafted. After a short training period, he was sent to the Yugoslavian border where he served for five years. He was sent home after receiving a near fatal wound, fortunate not to be counted among the tens of thousands killed in the conflict. He worked at various jobs in Tripoli, a city near his village, but couldn't make enough money to support his mother. At that point, he made the brave decision to leave everything he had ever known and set out for a new world in hopes of building a better life. John had relatives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who agreed to sponsor him. He found passage to the States working as a deckhand on an ocean freighter, traveling to North Africa and France before finally landing in New York. Speaking no English, he made his way to Grand Rapids and began working at his relatives' business, the Madison Square Laundry. John and his mother wrote letters to each other, but he never saw her again. In October of 1950, John's life took a delightful turn when he met a young lady named Mary Peliotes at a church function. Mary was a hard worker and family oriented. She taught part-time until her brother was called away to serve in the Korean War, then began working fulltime at her brother's store in downtown Muskegon, Steven's Food Market. John admired many traits in this young woman, and after dating for over a year, they were married on July 6, 1952. John was hired at the store and he and his new wife moved into an apartment rented from Mary's parents. John learned English while working at the store as well as valuable lessons about the grocery business. Dedicated to family and deeply in love with his wife, John was brought to tears when Mary informed him that they were expecting their first child. He was thrilled when little Nickolas arrived in 1956 and his joy was doubled when another son, William, joined the family in 1958. He built a home in the Beechwood section of Muskegon where he lived the rest of his years. John loved being a father and spent as much time with the boys as he could. He built benches in the back of the old panel truck from the grocery store and piled the boys and the other neighborhood kids into the back, hauling the passel of them to school at Bluffton Elementary. He took Nick and Bill to the store and let them stock shelves. He passed on his strong work ethic and was always grateful for the opportunities that his new homeland had brought him, but he wanted his sons to have more options. Because of that, he stressed education and made sure that both boys completed college. John cherished his Greek heritage and faithfully shared the beauty of their ancestry with his children and grandchildren. He was an active member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church where he served on the board for many years and had also been a member of AHEPA, the largest and oldest American-based, Greek heritage organization. He took his family to the village in Greece where he grew up, showing them the very well that he had been lowered into as a boy. Muskegon's Urban Renewal projects and the establishment of Meijer stores in the area led the family to sell their market in 1971. They sold their valuable liquor license to Meijer on the condition that John would be given a job. He worked as a butcher for a year and then managed the liquor store at the Henry Street Meijer until 1982, when a knee injury forced an early retirement. Mary then returned to teaching and John was delighted to stay at home, cooking, cleaning, maintaining the yard and houseplants, and building charming birdhouses. He treasured every moment with his grandchildren and they loved Papou's stories, taking pride in their Greek heritage. In his later years, John's body grew weary but he never tired of telling stories from his youth. His concern for his family was evident and he leaves them with a legacy of hard work, faithfulness, and most of all, love. His courage and sacrifice for the sake of his loved ones will continue to inspire them for years to come. John died Thursday, December 29, 2005. He is survived by his wife, Mary Davros; two sons, Nickolas Davros of Muskegon, and William (Sally) Davros, PhD of Shaker Heights, Ohio; and seven grandchildren, Yanni, Katina, Nickolas II, Kristopher, Arianna, Alexander, and Angelina. Visitation will be held on Monday, January 2, from 2-4 and from 7-9 p.m. at Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon, with a Trisagion Service at 8:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, January 3, at 11:00 a.m. at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church with Fr. Catalin Mott and Fr. James Bogdan officiating. Interment will be at Lakeside Cemetery. Please visit John's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, order flowers, or make a memorial contribution to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church.