[Baltimore Sun] Gabriel Pantelis, tavern owner and founder of 2 Greek Orthodox parishes, dies
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Gabriel M. Pantelis, a restaurant and tavern owner who was a founder of two Greek Orthodox parishes, died of heart failure May 15 at Morningside House of Satyr Hill in Baltimore County.
He was 98 and lived in Fallston in Harford County.
Born Gabriel M. Pantelides on the Greek Island of Symi, he was the son of Michael Pantelides and Katholiki Montiadis Pantelides. He was raised on Rhodes, an island that was under the control of Italy until 1948 and learned Greek, Spanish and English.
His father, who was born in Greece, was a U.S. citizen and lived and worked in Washington, D.C. The two did not meet until the younger Mr. Pantelis came to the U.S. and was 21.
Mr. Pantelis was raised by his mother in Greece. He sang liturgical chants in the Orthodox Church and Dodecanese Island folk songs.
“He dreamed of coming to America to better himself,” said his daughter, Cathy E. Pizanis. “In Greece, his formal education was limited to elementary school because of the demands of the Italian leadership on the inhabitants of the island of Rhodes where he grew up. He always said he spoke Italian better than Greek.”
He served in the Greek Navy at the end of World War II and followed his mother’s advice to learn numerous trades. He was a tailor, cook, musician and handyman.
Mr. Pantelis — he shortened his family name — settled in Baltimore on Tolna Street and made suits at several men’s tailoring firms.
Gabriel M. Pantelis traveled widely and visited six continents.
He married Elaine Michalos on June 30, 1957. They met at a Thanksgiving dinner.
Mr. Pantelis sponsored the immigration of nearly 40 other Greeks who had sewing and tailoring skills.
He also formed his own orchestra and played for dances, weddings and christenings along the East Coast. He sang in both Italian and Greek.
“His church was an overwhelming force in his life. He cared so much about the Greek Orthodox Church and its growth in Baltimore,” said Father Manuel J. Burdusi, pastor of Saint Theodore Greek Orthodox in Lanham and a family friend.
Mr. Pantelis was a founder in 1953 of the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Parish in Southeast Baltimore.
“He was the last surviving founding father who also wrote the articles of incorporation for St. Nicholas Church on Ponca Street,” said the Rev. Father Burdusi. “He was a kind man who loved to talk. If you ran into him at the grocery store, you’d be walking out an hour later.”
After moving to the suburbs, Mr. Pantelis and his wife were among the founders of a new congregation, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Baltimore County.
“He was a down-to-earth kind of guy,” said the Rev. Father Louis Noplos, the St. Demetrios pastor. “He never thought too much of himself. He was told the streets of America were paved in gold and he was prepared to make that happen.”
He was an enthusiastic fundraiser for both parishes and sold raffle tickets at dances, picnics and carnivals.
After the death of his first wife in 1998, he married Joanne Arnas-Sitaras.
Gabriel M. Pantelis formed his own orchestra and played for dances, weddings and christenings.
“When selling raffle chances, the question was never were you going to buy chances from him,” his wife said. “The question was, ‘How many?’”
Mr. Pantelis left tailoring and bought and operated restaurants and taverns.
He owned and operated the New Times Inn in Catonsville and Charlie’s Milk Bar at Ingleside Avenue and Johnnycake Road.
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Mr. Pantelis then operated the Trail House Restaurant in Cockeysville until it was destroyed by Tropical Storm Agnes.
He then ran Hertsch’s Tavern on Gwynn Oak Avenue. He built and owned the Corinthian Restaurant and Lounge in Woodlawn.
Mr. Pantelis decorated the tables at the Corinthian with ceramic tiles.
He usually left the cooking at his restaurants to others but annually prepared a large feast — often roasting a lamb on a spit — for Easter.
Mr. Pantelis also decorated his former Lutherville home on Haddington Road with nearly 6,000 Christmas lights he dyed blue. He spelled out “Merry Christmas” in English and Greek with the lights on his home’s roof.
He traveled widely and visited six continents. He owned homes in Maryland, Florida and Rhodes.
Gabriel M. Pantelis was honored by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive .Association
Mr. Pantelis was honored by the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.
Survivors include his wife, Joanne Arnas-Sitaras; a daughter, Cathy E. Pizanis, of Timonium; a son, Michael Gabriel Pantelis, of Timonium; and four grandchildren. His first wife died in 1998.
A funeral was held Monday at Saint Demetrios Church.
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