ΝΕΑ ΥΟΡΚΗ. Ο Γεώργιος Κουσούλης (George Panagiotis Kousoulis) μια από τις πιο εμβληματικές μορφές των γονέων των θυμάτων της τρομοκρατικής επίθεσης της 11ης Σεπτεμβρίου 2001 στους Δίδυμους Πύργους της Νέας Υόρκης και συνάμα ευεργέτης της κοινότητας του Αγίου Θωμά στο Τσέρι Χιλ της Νέας Ιερσέης δεν υπάρχει πια ανάμεσά μας.
Την Πέμπτη 16 Ιουλίου 2026 άφησε την τελευταία του πνοή σε ηλικία 90 ετών έχοντας στο πλευρό του τα παιδιά του Faith, Eleni και Peter και τους συζύγους τους, τα εγγόνια, Amalia, Liam, and Nicholas, τις αδελφές, τα ανίψια και τα ξαδέλφια και τους λοιπούς συγγενείς και φίλους εδώ και στην Ελλάδα.
Οι συγγενείς και οι φίλοι το πρωί της Παρασκευής, 7ης Αυγούστου 2026, και ώρα 9.30 π.μ. θα συγκεντρωθούν στον ιερό ναό του Αγίου Θωμά στην διεύθυνση 615 Mercer Street, Cherry Hill, NJ, για να προσκυνήσουν το σκήνωμά του και εν συνεχεία να παρακολουθήσουν την Εξόδιο Ακολουθία.
Στη συνέχεια θα μεταβούν στο Κοιμητήριο «Locustwood Memorial Park Cemetery» στο Cherry Hill, NJ, για να παρακολουθήσουν την ταφή του και να του απευθύνουν το ύστατο χαίρε.
Η οικογένεια καλεί τους συγγενείς και φίλους όπως αντί ανθέων προσφέρουν δωρεά στη μνήμη του στο Ταμείο Υποτροφιών στη μνήμη της κόρης τους «The Danielle Kousoulis Memorial Scholarship Fund» κάνοντας κλικ στο www.daniellekousoulisfund.org, είτε στην κοινότητα του Αγίου Θωμά στο «The St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church Danielle Kousoulis Community Center Building Fund» καλώντας στο (856) 665-1731.
Παραθέτουμε το πλήρες κείμενο της ανακοίνωσης στην αγγλική γλώσσα που εξέδωσαν η οικογένεια και η κοινότητα:
George Panagiotis Kousoulis, beloved Baba, Pappou, Theo, and friend, passed away on July16, 2026. His passing followed the unexpected loss of his beloved wife of sixty years, Zoe, in February 2026.
George was born in Elika, Laconia, Greece, on November 16, 1935, to Panagiotis Elias Kousoulis and Fotini Maravelias Kousoulis. He was raised in Elika with his five siblings. After completing the fifth grade, he began working in the family olive groves and onion fields to help support his family, and later served in the Greek Navy. In 1965, following the traditional mourning period after the loss of his mother the previous year, George bought a ticket to Australia intending to move there in search of better opportunities. Instead, fate intervened when he was introduced to Zoe on a blind date while she was in Greece in August 1965 for an AHEPA convention and to visit her aunt and uncle in Glyfada, Greece.
After just two dates, George was smitten and proposed. After some consideration, Zoe accepted. Rather than continue with his original plan to travel to Australia, George went to Nova Scotia, Canada, to obtain his U.S. green card so he could marry Zoe. On December 5, 1965, George and Zoe were married at Annunciation Church in Elkins Park, PA, and in December 2025, they lovingly celebrated sixty years of marriage.
George became a naturalized U.S. citizen on November 21, 1969. Together George and Zoe raised three daughters and one son. George also helped his brother Theodore and Theodore’s family immigrate from Greece to the United States in the early 1970s, and he also welcomed his father for several multi-year visits to the United States.
After arriving in the United States, George began his restaurant career as a cook at Brooklawn Ponzio’s in Brooklawn, NJ, before becoming part owner of The Forum Inn in Cherry Hill, NJ. From the mid-to-late 1970s through the early 1980s, he was part owner, manager, and chef at The Lion Gate restaurant in Cherry Hill, NJ. After selling The Lion Gate, he worked as a cook at Ponzio’s in Cherry Hill, NJ, until he and Zoe purchased and operated Zoe’s Sandwich Shoppe in Haddonfield, NJ, from 1983 to 1996. After selling Zoe’s Sandwich Shoppe, he returned to Cherry Hill Ponzio’s as a cook and completed his restaurant career there in 2001.
George worked long hours to support and raise his family, leaving little time to return to Greece to visit his siblings until the summer of 1996. From then on, George and Zoe traveled each summer to his childhood home in Elika, Greece, where they cherished time with family and friends. Along with his annual trips to Greece, George loved to cook, garden, play backgammon, and visit Atlantic City casinos with Zoe and his friends.
He was deeply involved in AHEPA Camden County Chapter No. 69 and St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill, NJ. He was named AHEPAN of the Year in 2016-2017 and, along with Zoe, served as Grand Marshal of the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 22, 2015. He also devoted countless volunteer hours to the annual St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church Agora Festival and helped found Kali Parea, a senior citizens’ social club at the church.
George looked forward to hosting annual traditions, including Father’s Day barbecues, Christmas Eve midnight brunches following church services, and legendary Greek Easter feasts. For years, he patiently turned the traditional Easter lamb on a spit by hand until he was able to purchase an electric spit. He was known for his culinary talent and authentic Greek cuisine, especially his homemade soups, quiches, potato salad, coleslaw, meatballs, garlic string beans, lemon potatoes, and marinated olive oil octopus. Whether opening his Haddon Township home to countless friends and family or welcoming loved ones to Elika during summer vacations, George showed his warmth and love through the meals he prepared.
George was predeceased by his daughter, Danielle Kousoulis, who was killed on September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center in New York City, a loss from which he never fully recovered. He was also predeceased by his beloved wife of sixty years, Zoe, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this year; his parents, Panagiotis Kousoulis and Fotini Maravelias Kousoulis of Elika, Greece; his sister, Chrysoula Kousoulis of Sparta, Greece; and his brother, Theodore Kousoulis of Cherry Hill, NJ.
George is survived by three children: Faith (Sean) Hagerty of Millersville, MD; Eleni Kousoulis (Rafael Perez) of Haddon Township, NJ; and Peter Kousoulis of Haddon Township, NJ. He is also survived by his loving grandchildren, Amalia and Liam Hagerty and Nicholas Perez. He is further survived by his siblings, Elias (Maria) Kousoulis of Athens, Greece, Haralambos (Maria) Kousoulis of Sparta, Greece, and Anastasia Karastatiris of Monemvasia, Greece; his sister-in-law, Zina Kousoulis of Cherry Hill, NJ; his godson, Nikolaos (Antoinette) Stylianos of Marlton, NJ; numerous nieces and nephews in Greece, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; and countless friends.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend his viewing on Friday, August 7, 2026, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church, 615 Mercer Street, Cherry Hill, NJ. Funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m., with interment at Locustwood Memorial Park Cemetery, Cherry Hill, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in George’s memory may be made to the Danielle Kousoulis Memorial Scholarship Fund at www.daniellekousoulisfund.org, or to the St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church Danielle Kousoulis Community Center Building Fund by contacting 856-665-1731.
