Μιχάλης ( Μάκης )
Δημακάκος  (1935-2005)


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Κάνετε κλικ να δείτε όλη τη φωτογραφία

Γεννήθηκε στις Κροκεές το 1935. Σε ηλικία δώδεκα μόλις χρονών η αδικία του εμφυλίου πολέμου του αφαίρεσε (αθώα θύματα) και τους δύο γονείς του . Σαν ο μεγαλύτερος της οικογένειας ( είχε τέσσερα μικρότερα αδέλφια και μιά αδελφή ), με την βοήθεια των συγχωριανών και συγγενών και με ότι μικροδουλίτσα του μπορούσε να βρει κατάφερε να γλιτώσουν από την πείνα και την φτώχια της θλιβερής εκείνης περιόδου. Στα δέκα εφτά του χρόνια μετανάστεψε στην Αμερική με ένα και μόνο σκοπό...δουλειά, δουλειά ...και πάλι δουλειά για να μαζέψει χρήματα και να τα στήλη πίσω στις Κροκεές στα αδέλφια του. Δούλεψε σε διάφορες πόλεις και πολιτείες και για ένα καλύτερο μεροκάματο έφτασε ακόμη και στην Αλάσκα.

Κατάληξε στο Λονγλ Άϊλαντ της Νέας Υόρκης στο Blossom Heath Florist ανθοπωλείο του Θείου του το οποίο σε λίγα χρόνια, όταν ο θείος του μπήκε σε σύνταξη, το αγόρασε και με την σκληρή δουλειά ανέβασε την επιχείρηση αυτή σε μία από τις καλύτερες της περιοχής. Ένα-ένα έφερε στην Αμερική όλα τα αδέλφια του ( Νίκο, Τάσο, Τζίμη και Τζακ) καθώς και την οικογένεια της αδελφής του της Κικής . Επέστεψε στην Ελλάδα και συζευκτικέ την Μαρία με την οποία και απόχτησαν τρία παιδιά το Παναγιώτη, Ντίνο και τον Νίκο Η Μαρία και τα παιδιά του μετά τις πανεπιστημιακές σπουδές τους συνεχίζουν με την διαχείριση το ανθοπωλείου.

Ή ταν θερμός Έλληνας, πατριώτης που βοηθούσε οτιδήποτε το Ελληνοχριστιανικό καθώς και μεγάλος υποστηριχτής των σκοπών του συλλόγου μας και ειδικότερα του θεσμού υποτροφιών του οποίου τύχαινε και μέγας ευεργέτης. Ήταν η ψυχή και το κέφι των συνεδρίων μας λαβαίνοντας μέρος σε όλα σχεδόν τα συνέδρια των τελευταίων τριάντα πέντε και πλέον χρόνων. Ο Μάκης πάλεψε σιωπηλά / προσωπικά με τον επάρατο καρκίνο του παχιού εντέρου και έφυγε από κοντά μας στις 30 Ιουλίου 2005.

Η σύζυγος και τα παιδιά του συνεχίζουν το ευεργετικό του έργο με την ετήσια προσφορά των $1000 στον θεσμό υποτροφιών του συλλόγου.

Τον Ιούλιο του 2006 στο 52ο συνέδριο της Οτάβα ο σύλλογος μας (Κροκεατών Αμερικής Καναδά) καθιέρωσε την υποτροφία " Μάκης Δημακάκος" αξίας $1000 στην μνήμη του.

Επίσης στη μνήμη του Μάκη ο σύλλογος μας δώρισε το 2005 το ποσό των $500 στον φιλανθρωπικό οίκο" Ronald McDonald House " στο ειδικό ταμείο για τα Ελληνόπουλα.

Μάκης "Ο Επαγγελματίας της χρονιάς" ...... άθρο στα Αγγλικά παραπλεύρως

Μάκης & Μαρία - Mike & Maria


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Krokeai Society - 49th Convention Stamford, CT, 7/2002

Michael ( Mike) Demas a great beliver in the ideals of Hellinism, a great suporter of our society and a major sponsor of our "Educational Awards" program passed away July 30, 2005 after a long battle with colon cancer. He was the heart and soul of our conventions ,having participated in almost all of the conventions of the last 35 years.
In his memory our society established ( 52nd Convention, Ottawa July 2006) the $1000 Mike Demas educational award.

Also In Mike's memory Krokeai Society - USA & Canada donated $500 to the "Ronald McDonald House / Greek Children Fund 2005 ".



Mike's Obituary as it apeared in Newsday.com 8/2&3/2005.

DEMAS-Michael, age 70, passed on Saturday, July 30, 2005. Michael was a good man. He worked hard and was devoted to his family, which he held above all things. As a young boy in civil war-torn Greece, Michael lost both his parents, innocent civilian casualties of a senseless and brutal chapter of history. He was only twelve years old, the eldest of six children. From that moment he learned three things: the importance of work, family, and community. His relatives and townspeople helped him, as he began, at that early age, to work whatever job he could in order to escape the crushing poverty of the time and to provide for his siblings. At the age of seventeen, will, determination, and necessity brought him to the United States, like so many Greeks and others in that difficult era. His plan was simple: work, work, work and save up money to help his family. It is an immigrant's tale: relatives with restaurants took him in as a bus boy, dishwasher, laborer, working in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, the Catskills, then briefly having his own small diners in Mt. Vernon and the Bronx, and even a trip to Alaska to find higher-paying short term work, anything that could better his life here and help his family back in Greece. He eventually came to Long Island in 1958 to work at his uncle's flower store, Blossom Heath Florist, in Oceanside. If you knew Mike, you won't be surprised that within a few years he was running the place, and purchased the business when his uncle retired. Having adequately set himself up in America, he returned to Greece to find a wife, the loving and devoted Maria. One by one, his family came to the States, his brother Tom working alongside at Blossom Heath, his brother Nick setting up a tailor shop next door. Also in the picture were his brothers Jack and Jimmy, the youngest, who went to Oceanside High School. His sister Vassiliki was a short three hours away with her family in Rhode Island. Michael and Maria would have three boys, Peter, Dean, and Nick, to which they were completely devoted. Family, Community, Hard Work: these were the constants in his life. A serious and indefatigable businessman, Michael put everything he had into his business, and watched it flourish. He was an active and generous member of the community and was named Businessperson of the Year by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce in 1992. When asked to comment on his success, he simply replied: "You work hard, you're honest, that's the best thing in business." But he wasn't all business. He knew how to enjoy life, and he enjoyed it most in the company of his family. He loved to see those he loved having a good time. His sense of community extended to his high involvement with the Panaghia Greek Orthodox Church of Island Park. The church was very meaningful to him, as a Christian, and also as a Greek. He was co-Godfather of the Panaghia Church, helping out a great deal with its renovation. The church for him was more than a place of worship, it was his heritage, and history; a place where Greek Culture survives, where fellow Greek-American immigrants and their families share their devotion to God, their experiences, their loves, their hardships, where respect for the past and hope for the future lives. At weddings, christenings, church functions, and especially the yearly Church Bazaar, he was unstoppable. He was the guy the band dreaded because he'd never let them go home. One a.m., two a.m., "Keep playing!! We're still dancing and there's plenty left to drink!!" Michael was diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago. He fought it bravely and quietly. Only his wife and children knew. He didn't want anyone to worry about him; he didn't want his family to be distressed. Maria, his caring and loving wife, saw him through the sharp difficult turns of his battle with cancer, while at the same time kept the business running. She was a constant, unending source of love.