Replies

..And is it really true about Felos's mother backing over her father?..

It's really true.

Edition]
AMY WALSH. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Aug 8, 1995. pg. 1
Abstract (Document Summary)
Mr. Felos died Sunday afternoon of injuries he received when his wife accidentally hit him with her car, pushed him into the street, then backed over him, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. No charges were filed in the accident, which occurred at their home on Darston Street in Ridgemoor.

Mr. Felos and his wife, Jean, had moved to Florida in 1974 for "family and sunshine," [Marilyn] Felos-Shankman said. Her parents, who met when they were growing up in Bennington, Vt., were married for 46 years.

Her father, who was 73, was a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Greece. Mr. Felos held fast to his roots, supporting the Greek-American organization Order of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and playing an active role at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Clearwater.

Full Text (748 words)
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Aug 8, 1995
(ran NS S editions of Tampa Bay & State)

James G. Felos died in a heart-wrenching way: as the result of an accident in his own driveway, under the wheels of his wife's car.

But his family and friends Monday spoke not of the accident but of a loving, generous man who gave much to his community.

"We're coping because we're following the advice he gave us: Celebrate and go on," said Marilyn Felos-Shankman, one of two daughters.

Mr. Felos died Sunday afternoon of injuries he received when his wife accidentally hit him with her car, pushed him into the street, then backed over him, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. No charges were filed in the accident, which occurred at their home on Darston Street in Ridgemoor.

Mr. Felos and his wife, Jean, had moved to Florida in 1974 for "family and sunshine," Felos-Shankman said. Her parents, who met when they were growing up in Bennington, Vt., were married for 46 years.

"It's hard for her," Felos-Shankman said of her mother, "because it was an accident."

Her father, who was 73, was a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Greece. Mr. Felos held fast to his roots, supporting the Greek-American organization Order of American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association and playing an active role at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Clearwater.

Mr. Felos was a lawyer for more than 40 years and practiced with his son, George, at their firm, Felos & Felos of Dunedin. George Felos, 43, gained prominence several years ago when he contributed to a landmark Florida Supreme Court decision that gave senior citizens "the right to die."

The father and son handled all sorts of cases, said Cindy Gay, their secretary for 12 years, who warmly recalled the senior Felos. "He was almost like a father to me," Gay said. "I could sit and talk to him about anything."

Besides at home, Mr. Felos' presence may be missed most, however, at Holy Trinity, where he and his wife were longtime members. Mr. Felos served on the parish council, and he was the church's attorney and financial adviser. Mrs. Felos, 64, is president of the choir.

"They participated in most all of the events in the life of this parish," said the Rev. James Rousakis, the church's senior priest.

While Mr. Felos may have appeared serious on the outside, "inside was a very compassionate and soft person," Rousakis said.

Jean Ginsburg and her husband, Stan, have played cards with the Feloses for years. "I found him a very gentle person," she said. "He was fun."

"He devoted his life to his work and family," said Felos-Shankman, 37, who is an accountant in Fort Lauderdale. "He's not the type to have a billion hobbies."

But Mr. Felos liked to travel and read, especially spy novels, which may explain why he and his wife visited Russia so many times, Felos-Shankman said.

The manner of his death shocked his family. Felos-Shankman said her father had fought colon and rectal cancer and was experiencing a reoccurrence. "I was expecting a phone call sometime in the future that he was dying of cancer," she said. But "he looked great. He felt great. . . . Then this."

But Mr. Felos lived a full life, his daughter said: "My mother just asked him the other day: `Is there anything you want to do? Any place you want to go?' He said: `Not a thing. I'm very happy.' "

In addition to his wife and his children, Marilyn and George, Mr. Felos is survived by a second daughter, Evelyn Athas, who is 44 and a registered nurse in Long Island, N.Y.; his sisters, Helen Kiamos of Holiday and Joanna Mouroutsos of New Port Richey; and four grandchildren.

Mr. Felos, a graduate of Syracuse University and the University of Miami Law School, was a former district attorney in Queens County, N.Y. He campaigned unsuccessfully to be a Pinellas County judge in 1976.

He was an Army veteran of World War II, a 32nd-degree Mason and a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Society.

Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Curlew Hills Funeral Home at 1717 Curlew Road in Palm Harbor. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 409 Old Coachman Road in Clearwater. The Rev. Rousakis will officiate.

The family asks that donations be made to the church or to AHEPA.

Archived at:
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/21189586.html?MAC=e5a058cab8546889cb7b0043b14741cb&did=21189586&FMT=FT&FMTS=FT&date=Aug+8%2C+1995&author=AMY+WALSH&printformat=&desc=Accident+victim+was+%60a+very+gentle+person%27