James Louis Kanellos, 84, passed away on August 27, 2019 after a brief battle with pulmonary fibrosis. He was born in Columbia, S.C., the youngest son of Greek immigrants, the late Louis George and Athamandia (Venechanos) Kanellos.
He served honorably in the army during the Korean War, and after his discharge he attended the University of South Carolina and graduated with a degree in business in 1959. Upon graduation, he moved to Atlanta and spent the majority of his career in commercial real estate working as a developer and broker. He was very proud of his Greek heritage and shared his love of his parents’ birthplace of Sparta with his children and grandchildren. He was an active member of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, AHEPA, Danaos Society and the Laconian Society of America. He was also an avid Gamecock fan and a member of the Gamecock Club for many years.
He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, Zographia (Phia) Peppas Kanellos. He is survived by children Louis James Kanellos of Greenville, SC, Deanna and John Palmer of Greenville, SC, Argie and Ric Sirmans of Atlanta, Ga., and Dina and Tom Roberts of Greenville, SC; grandchildren, Jimmy and Sam Palmer of Greenville, SC and Zographia (Zoe) & Pete Sirmans of Atlanta, Ga.; sister Irene Stankewich of Columbia, SC; brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins.
The prayer service will be held Thursday, August 29 at 7 p.m. at H. M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill Chapel (4550 Peachtree Road, NE), with visitation from 5 – 8 p.m. The funeral service will be held Friday, August 30 at 11 a.m. at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (2500 Clairmont Road NE). Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (http://stjude.org) or the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation (https://www.atlgoc.org/guest-donations). The family would like to thank the many caring physicians and medical staff at Emory Healthcare as well as the dedicated caregivers at Compassus of Greenville.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18