Nikolaos Mahairas' Obituary
Nikolaos Mahairas, 91, of Port Richey, Florida, passed away peacefully on September 16, 2024, at Bear Creek Nursing Center, Hudson, Florida. He was born on March 13, 1933, in a small town of Kerasia, Thessaloniki, Greece. He was the son of the late Georgios Mahairas and the late Helen Mahairas. He was the eldest of 7 siblings. He married his late wife, Sophia Mahairas, on December 15, 1957. They had 2 children, a daughter and son, in Greece.
Nikolaos’ parents, uncle, and two younger sisters had immigrated from Greece to the United States. He had made multiple trips to visit family after they had moved to see how life was in America. In 1969, Nikolaos took his wife and immigrated to the United States and settled in Boston, Massachusetts for a better life. In 1972, they had their 3rd child, a daughter.
After living through the snowy and cold winters of Boston, Nikolaos could not take the cold anymore and wanted to move somewhere warmer. That is when in 1978 he uprooted his family and moved to Florida and settled in Clearwater, Florida, following his late uncle John Mahairas.
When he came to America, he was sponsored by his late uncle to become a cobbler. He became a cobbler/shoe repair man and took over his late uncle’s business in Massachusetts for his late uncle to move to Florida. After moving to Florida, Nikolaos started his own business as a cobbler/shoe repair man and started his own lawn business when moving to Clearwater, Florida to support his family. At his shoe repair business, he would repair and fix shoes, jackets, and luggage. He was famous for his saying “YOU BRING I FIX” when it came to anything about shoes. He was very passionate and proud about his work and making sure that his work was done correctly and satisfactory to his clients.
He was one of the original founders of the Macedonian Society of Florida Alexander the Great in Clearwater. He loved to Greek dance and loved his Greek culture. He also loved to garden. He had a green thumb and was able to grow anything. If he was not in his shop working, you would find him in the garden in the back yard on his knees playing in the dirt growing his fresh vegetables. He also loved his fruit trees and flowers.
He is pre-deceased by his beloved wife, Sophia Mahairas, of 56 years, parents, Georgios Mahairas and Helen Mahairas and sister, Zoi Souliou.
He is survived by his 3 children, Elaine Sfirakis, George (Alexandra) Mahairas, and Anastasia Mellios; 9 grandchildren, Matthew Sfirakis, Chris Sfirakis, Sophia Sfirakis, Vicki Sfirakis, Nicholas Mahairas, Victoria Mahairas, Stefano Mahairas, Evyenia Mellios and Dimitri Perkins; 13 great grandchildren; brothers and sisters; and multiple nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held on Friday, September 27th, 2024, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm, at Trinity Memorial Gardens, 12609 Memorial Drive, Trinity, Florida, with a Trisagion service at 7:00 pm, and the Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, September 28th, 2024, at 12:00 pm at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, 9426 Little Road, New Port Richey, Florida, with the burial following at Trinity Memorial Gardens.
As einai aionia i mnimi tou (may his memory be eternal)
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