Spiros Mantzas

Like many of his generation, Spiros grew up in a Greece that was poor and ravaged by two wars. As one of seven children, and the oldest son, life was hard, but family values were strong. He came to the United States in 1951 in search of a future for himself and to help support his family at home as was the custom. rnrnHe arrived in the United States with old world values and he did the only thing he knew how to do and that was to work hard. Together with Nula, his wife of 53 years he became a successful restaurateur and raised a family. He worked hard so that his family would have a better start in life than he had. As he got older and the grandchildren came along it was clear that his family was the most important thing in his life and his most cherished accomplishment. rnrnAs one looks back on his life, one sees a man who, in one generation, was able to transplant himself in a new country, where he did not know the language, work his way from a dishwasher to a successful restaurant owner, educate his children in a way that was unavailable to him and still remain true to the simplicity and humility in which he was born on the farm in the mountains of Greece. rnrnSpiros is survived by his wife Nula, children, Dino Mantzas and Kiki Canavos and her husband Tony, his grandchildren Jennifer, Andrew, Spyro, Nicholas and Janelle and his three sisters Thalia, Sophia and Eleni. rnrnA public viewing will be held Thursday 7-9 pm and Friday 11-12pm at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church, 615 Mercer St., Cherry Hill, NJ 08002, where the funeral services will be celebrated at noon. Interment will be at Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the St. Thomas Senior Citizens’ Home for the Aged, at the church’s address