Theodore Andrew Grepares, 89, owner of Ted's Mustang for many years, was born on May 14, 1930 in Joliet, Illinois passed away on November 12, 2019 in Houston, Texas.
Ted was preceded in death by his parents, Florence Volgar Grepares and Andrew Theodore Grepares; son, Benjamen "Bennie" Joseph Grepares; sisters, Isabelle Miller, Frances Madonis, Mary Grepares; and brother, John Grepares.
Survived by his loving wife, Patricia "Pattie" Clapp Grepares; children, Andrew "Andy" Theodore Grepares and wife, Jan, Gregory "Greg" David Grepares and wife, Sharon, Anthony "Tony" John Grepares, daughter, Diana "DeeDee" Lorene Wright and husband, Glen. Grandchildren, Dustin Lowery, Matthew Grepares, Nicholas Grepares, Jade Grepares, Nathan Grepares, Kristina Buck, Yanniz Grepares, Crystal Grepares, Logan Grepares and Adony Grepares. Also surviving is Ted's sister, Andrea Meintanis and her husband, Demetrios.
Eternal Be His Memory
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial contributions in Mr. Grepares name to the Alzheimer's Association.
A Tribute To My Father
I want you to know what a blessing & privilege it is to have you as my father. For much of my life, I strived to make you proud of me. This helped give me the "drive" to work tirelessly for years, building Golden Greek Carpets. I am grateful that God gave us each other, and I would not have wanted it any other way. I have a few special memories that I want to share with you Dad.
I remember, one warm fall afternoon, you and mom took Bennie and me for a walk down to the old Sangers Quarry. We held each other's hands, we skipped rocks across the water, we climbed up and down the cliff, and Bennie and I went swimming in a shallow pond. Your spending this time with us made it a special moment in time.
I remember, your and my visits to your friends junkyard off of Patterson Rd, near Lockport. I didn't realize at the time that I should not have been taking the junkyard cars ignition keys, but I did amass quite a collection! You carried a lot of keys of your own. Since it seemed to me to be a measurement of importance, I wanted lots of keys too. It made me feel that I was important like my Dad!
My favorite childhood restaurant was a smorgasbord called Neilson's, located near downtown Chicago. I used to describe it to you and mom as "the place where you can have all you can eat!"
We made several trips to Wisconsin in our early years as a family. We took a trip to Osh Kosh in 1962. During that time, our family vehicle was a 1957 Lincoln Premier two door hardtop. It was rose colored, with a cream colored top. We spent the day at Delavan Lake, near Janesville. Later that day Bennie and I enjoyed a swim in the Holiday Inn pool. I couldn't get enough of the Creamy Wisconsin Sharp Cheddar Cheese!
In the middle of one night during the early fall of 1963, you and Mom woke Bennie and me up, and quickly ushered us away from the danger inside our home to safety outside. We were coughing hard from all the smoke we had breathed in the house. A pile of rags, which had been used for varnish, had been smoldering. You had been working hard to convert our duplex into a single family home, preparing for our new little brother Greg, who had not yet been born. The rags erupted into flames in your hand, as you came running to get them out of the house. Fortunately, due to both of your quick thinking and action the house was spared, and so were we!
We made a few family trips to visit Aunt Rena, while she was attending Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill. She kept Bennie and me well supplied with her alma mater paraphernalia, including really cool sweatshirts! During the summers, she practiced her singing in the mornings at the family farm, which I thought a delight to hear. Mom used to say we were waking up to our daily serenade! Then a few years later, I was given the privilege of playing a role in Aunt Rena and Taki's wedding. She has been a special aunt to me, as I know she has always been a special sister to you!
Bennie and I always looked forward to having our cousins, Johnny, Andy & Jimmy Madonis come to visit us at the farm. Our pretty cousin Lisa Grepares occasionally came to visit too. When Lisa and the Madonis boys were visiting at the same time, all of us boys competed for her attention! One afternoon, we boys were all sliding down the side of the quoncet hut building. Being true to a mischievous boys behavior, Johnny took Andy's shoes and threw them off from the roof. Andy could not slide down with his feet bare, because there was broken glass at the bottom of our slide. His absence was not noticed until after dark at Papou's dinner table, when Aunt Mary heard a noise outside. She said "I think I hear an animal dying or something out there!" It was actually Andy's desperate cry for help. You promptly came with a tall ladder to rescue our cousin in distress.
We also had fun when Chrissy came to visit for a few days every summer, but we seemed to avoid the same brand of mischief we found with the Madonis boys!
Our best ever family vacation was traveling to Salt Lake City in Utah, in August of 1964. Our family car at that time was a two toned red and cream colored 1962 Chevy Biscayne, with a 283 V-8 engine. You wanted to see the Bonneville Run at the Salt Flats; Mom, Bennie and I wanted to swim in the Great Salt Lake. Greg was just a baby. You bought Bennie and me each a camera before our trip; boy did we take the pictures. Bennie and I became even better acquainted with The Holiday Inn's amenities, we couldn't wait to get checked-in to the next Holiday Inn, each evening, to have our time in the hotel swimming pool! We loved a silly dive you did, which you called the frog. I felt we were wealthy beyond measure during that trip. Looking back, The Holiday Inn seemed more like The Ritz Carlton to me. On our way back home, while passing another slow moving vehicle, you were caught in a speed trap somewhere in Nebraska. You only had nine dollars left to get us home after paying the fine to the Kangaroo Court, which was in the J.P.'s home garage. As you stormed out of his "office" you couldn't help but tell him, "I hope you get fat, you SOB!" You were nervous for the next several miles that he would send someone after you as retribution, good thing he didn't!
Jumping forward, late one night in 1973, I received an unexpected phone call from Kurt Radloff and Jerry Polish, friends of mine from our previous home in Palatine. They had decided to make an unannounced visit, but their MGB-GT broke down along the way in Texarkana! I felt I fulfilled my duty to my friends, by telling you of their predicament, not expecting for it to go much further. To my amazement, the next morning there you were, loading up your tools and a chain to go to their rescue. You and I drove all the way up to Texarkana, tried without success to get their MGB-GT running, and then you towed it by chain all the way back to Houston! To top it off, you and Mom made room for them in your home and welcomed them to your table for several months. All of this in your modest 2300 square foot home, already filled to the brim with a family of seven! I learned a good lesson about generosity from both you and Mom during this time.
You and I spent quality time together, taking many trips back to Lockport. Old friends and family alike knew, if one of us were in town, so should be the other. We loved Alpha's Chicago style pizza! It was in a small strip mall on Jefferson St., near the original site of Joliet's Honiotes family grocery store. I will hold the memories near and dear in my heart, of the two of us, walking side by side down Lockport's Old Canal Rd to The Quarry; once as a young child with my tall and strong father, then later in our lives as two grown men. I was impressed that you, at the young age of 70, climbed down the steep banks, and gingerly crossed the canal with me on the sometimes slippery rocks, like you were still in your twenties.
Father, you raised, loved, and provided for five children. I don't know how you and Mom managed to make ends meet, providing for all of us on a single income. We never had too much, yet we never had too little. Every weekday, throughout your adult life, you left our home with your silver aluminum lunchbox in hand, in which you carried a cold sandwich, an apple, some chips, and a thermos of coffee. You always provided for us Dad. You always brought home your paychecks, sat down with Mom, and paid the bills. After that, you bought our groceries. Then if there was enough left, one of your lucky children would get the clothes, jacket, or pair of shoes that were needed. Father, you have set an extraordinary example of fiscal responsibility.
When it came to your family, you have always been there when we needed your help. When I was in Mrs. Testa's class in the 4th grade, you discovered my spelling and math grades were suffering. Instead of scolding or punishing me, you sat down with me and helped me understand how math worked and how to use phonics in spelling. By the time I reached Mr. Hertco's class in the 5th grade, I was an A student in both!
You were there, to help me rebuild the engine on my first car, a Volkswagen Beetle, in the basement of our home in Palatine. Then you helped me rebuild it a second time, after the engine threw a rod. You were there, when your son Bennie needed extra patience and understanding, due to his personal struggles. You were there, to help Greg rebuild the engine for his first car, a 1972 El Camino. You were there, to provide your daughter DeeDee with a Classic Fastback Mustang when she needed a car to drive, and to keep it in good running condition. DeeDee once very matter of factly told a car mechanic friend of mine named Rex, "you will never do as good a job on my car as my Dad!" You were there to show your support for Tony, when he participated in High School Football; then to comfort him, after he had a fight with a neighborhood bully. You were always there for all of us. Whether we needed your help, or caused you disappointment; you never disowned any of us, but rather forgave us and just moved on.
You were there, to help me rebuild my fencing after a storm came through. You were there, to help both Matthew and Nathan build their Pinewood Derby cars, while they were in the scouts. You were there to build both of your grandsons their wooden fort, with an upper loft no less!
As I built Golden Greek Carpets over the years, literally from the ground floor up, you were always there. You were there at the beginning, advising me not to allow myself to be taken advantage of by unscrupulous customers which you felt I would eventually encounter. You were there to help me purchase my first used fork lift. You were there to help me move to a larger facility, as my company outgrew it's first location. You were there, on several occasions to help me to move and set up the heavy and cumbersome carpet racks. You were there to rebuild a second hand Chromalloy Carpet Cutting Machine, and to bring it into full operation. You were there to keep it in tip-top operating condition. It goes on and on, but you were always there, my Father. With your help, often at some of the most critical times, Golden Greek Carpets became one of the largest and most respected floor covering companies in Houston. You often seemed to be as much a part of Golden Greek Carpets as me.
Some of my proudest moments have been the times I felt I made you proud. It gives me such joy to see you wear your Golden Greek Carpets T-Shirts, day-in and day-out; I gave you those shirts years ago!
Father, you didn't just give us what we needed, you have given us all that you had to give. You have always been there when we needed you.
A few years ago when I shared my desire with you and mom, to move from Houston out to the country, I was touched by your considerate and selfless response. Although you knew you would be facing a burdensome responsibility caring for Mom, you only expressed concern for me, hoping that Jan would adapt to a different lifestyle than that which she was accustomed to. Never once did I so much as sense that you were concerned about your welfare, about losing any help I might have been provided.
As we celebrated Thanksgiving in 2016, we were joyful that you and Mom were there to celebrate with us; both of you have been there to celebrate these holidays, throughout our entire lives. The inevitability, that one day you won't be here, it's a painful reality that is difficult to bear.
.
Six months ago, you received a diagnosis from the doctor. You haven't allowed that news to keep you from being who you are. You still love and look after mom, you still care about your children and grandchildren, you still offer your practical wisdom, weather we ask for it or not! You Will forever hold a special place deeply rooted within our hearts.
Father, you are my hero, I hope I can follow in your footsteps. I hope one day, both of my sons will feel as proud of me, as I am of you.
The providing, patience and care you have shown all of us throughout our lives has been a generous gift of love; this accounting of our life together is my gift of love to you.
Love and Respect,
Andy
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