♥ ♥ ~ My Uncle Bill ~ ♥ ♥
Bill was the fifth of seven children, and the second son. According to Greek custom, he was named for his father's oldest brother, Vasilios (William) Dimitrios Panagakos.
He was baptized at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre, along with his siblings Frossine, Vaselo, Ana, and George, on June 23, 1938. He attended Greek school and the James M Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre.
On May 6, 1962, he married the love of his life, Eleanor Gryskevicz, at the Greek Orthodox Church where he was baptized. Their wedding reception was held at his parents' home. The couple raised two sons. He worked in the restaurant business his entire life. His first job was working at his father's restaurant – The Faust – located on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. He later owned and operated King's Pizza House.
My Uncle Bill liked a good joke and a friendly wager. One year at the Bloomsburg Fair a man was betting people that he could guess their name within a certain number of tries if he knew their initial. Uncle Bill asked my Mom and his other sister who was with us to walk by about a minute later and come over when he called to them. He wagered that the guy couldn't guess his name, and lost. Then he asked if the man would allow him to win his money back by letting him ask someone walking by to play and bet double or nothing - and the man agreed. He called to my aunt, "Oh miss, could you come here and help us with a wager?" The man couldn't guess Frossine (who would?), so my uncle won the bet. Then he offered to let the man win back his money by doing the same thing again. Poor guy fell for it, and he called my Mom over. I remember the man asking to see Mom's driver's license to prove her name was Vaselo.
Bill was the fifth of seven children, and the second son. According to Greek custom, he was named for his father's oldest brother, Vasilios (William) Dimitrios Panagakos.
He was baptized at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre, along with his siblings Frossine, Vaselo, Ana, and George, on June 23, 1938. He attended Greek school and the James M Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre.
On May 6, 1962, he married the love of his life, Eleanor Gryskevicz, at the Greek Orthodox Church where he was baptized. Their wedding reception was held at his parents' home. The couple raised two sons. He worked in the restaurant business his entire life. His first job was working at his father's restaurant – The Faust – located on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. He later owned and operated King's Pizza House.
My Uncle Bill liked a good joke and a friendly wager. One year at the Bloomsburg Fair a man was betting people that he could guess their name within a certain number of tries if he knew their initial. Uncle Bill asked my Mom and his other sister who was with us to walk by about a minute later and come over when he called to them. He wagered that the guy couldn't guess his name, and lost. Then he asked if the man would allow him to win his money back by letting him ask someone walking by to play and bet double or nothing - and the man agreed. He called to my aunt, "Oh miss, could you come here and help us with a wager?" The man couldn't guess Frossine (who would?), so my uncle won the bet. Then he offered to let the man win back his money by doing the same thing again. Poor guy fell for it, and he called my Mom over. I remember the man asking to see Mom's driver's license to prove her name was Vaselo.
♥ ♥ ~ My Uncle Bill ~ ♥ ♥
Bill was the fifth of seven children, and the second son. According to Greek custom, he was named for his father's oldest brother, Vasilios (William) Dimitrios Panagakos.
He was baptized at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre, along with his siblings Frossine, Vaselo, Ana, and George, on June 23, 1938. He attended Greek school and the James M Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre.
On May 6, 1962, he married the love of his life, Eleanor Gryskevicz, at the Greek Orthodox Church where he was baptized. Their wedding reception was held at his parents' home. The couple raised two sons. He worked in the restaurant business his entire life. His first job was working at his father's restaurant – The Faust – located on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. He later owned and operated King's Pizza House.
My Uncle Bill liked a good joke and a friendly wager. One year at the Bloomsburg Fair a man was betting people that he could guess their name within a certain number of tries if he knew their initial. Uncle Bill asked my Mom and his other sister who was with us to walk by about a minute later and come over when he called to them. He wagered that the guy couldn't guess his name, and lost. Then he asked if the man would allow him to win his money back by letting him ask someone walking by to play and bet double or nothing - and the man agreed. He called to my aunt, "Oh miss, could you come here and help us with a wager?" The man couldn't guess Frossine (who would?), so my uncle won the bet. Then he offered to let the man win back his money by doing the same thing again. Poor guy fell for it, and he called my Mom over. I remember the man asking to see Mom's driver's license to prove her name was Vaselo.
Bill was the fifth of seven children, and the second son. According to Greek custom, he was named for his father's oldest brother, Vasilios (William) Dimitrios Panagakos.
He was baptized at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary in Wilkes-Barre, along with his siblings Frossine, Vaselo, Ana, and George, on June 23, 1938. He attended Greek school and the James M Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre.
On May 6, 1962, he married the love of his life, Eleanor Gryskevicz, at the Greek Orthodox Church where he was baptized. Their wedding reception was held at his parents' home. The couple raised two sons. He worked in the restaurant business his entire life. His first job was working at his father's restaurant – The Faust – located on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre. He later owned and operated King's Pizza House.
My Uncle Bill liked a good joke and a friendly wager. One year at the Bloomsburg Fair a man was betting people that he could guess their name within a certain number of tries if he knew their initial. Uncle Bill asked my Mom and his other sister who was with us to walk by about a minute later and come over when he called to them. He wagered that the guy couldn't guess his name, and lost. Then he asked if the man would allow him to win his money back by letting him ask someone walking by to play and bet double or nothing - and the man agreed. He called to my aunt, "Oh miss, could you come here and help us with a wager?" The man couldn't guess Frossine (who would?), so my uncle won the bet. Then he offered to let the man win back his money by doing the same thing again. Poor guy fell for it, and he called my Mom over. I remember the man asking to see Mom's driver's license to prove her name was Vaselo.
