George Marinopoulos, of Quincy, MA, passed away peacefully on November 16. Born in Athens, Greece on September 10, 1939 to Haralambos and Anna Marinopoulos. At the age of 17, he boarded the Queen Frederica and began his immigration story to the United States. With one suitcase in his hands, he stepped foot on American soil at Ellis Island in January of 1957. His name is proudly etched on panel #728 on The Wall of Honor at Ellis Island.

His journey continued to Schenectady, NY, where he began working for his future best friend John Zoulas' Greek diner. He immersed himself in English classes in order to learn enough English to court his beautiful bride, Joanne Van Allen. The two were married in 1961. He joined the Air Force and he and Joanne were stationed in Paris from 1961-1965. After leaving the Air Force, George and Joanne settled in Quincy, MA and created a lovely home where they welcomed their son, Robert Marinopoulos, in 1970. George was a career butcher and meat manager for over 35 years, working for Purity Supreme and Stop N Shop where his customers would often come visit him even when they didn't need to purchase anything.

By far, his greatest accomplishment was being the best Papou on the planet. His true passion was babysitting and attending the many sporting and scouting events, school plays and concerts of his three grandchildren, Niko, Ella and Zachary. As babies, he bounced them on his knee, singing Greek nursery rhymes, until they giggled right off. A dedicated cheerleader, showing up in even the most inclement weather, he would yell the nicknames that he gave each of them, Niko Mu, Elitsa and Zacharias in his fabulous Greek accent. He proudly shared his immigration experience with his grandchildren and their classmates as an invited guest speaker, bringing that one suitcase with him to show them how little he came with to start his new life. He was, in fact, such an amazing grandfather, that many of his grandchildren's friends and cousins adopted him as their own "Papou".

He loved being a Greek-American and was very grateful for the opportunity that his adopted country provided him and very proud of the country that raised him. He enjoyed many trips to Greece to visit with his family in Athens and Tinos and loved watching their families grow. He always took such great care to fill his suitcase full of gifts to bring his nieces, grandnieces and grandnephews, making sure that there was room for plenty of gifts on the return trip. On one trip, he reunited with his childhood friends and toured the country together, reliving their childhood. By far, his favorite trip to Greece, was when he traveled with his grandson, Niko, to celebrate his graduation from high school.

He is preceded in death by his father and mother, Haralambos and Anna Marinopoulos, and his sister, Maria. He is survived by his wife Joanne Marinopoulos, of Quincy; his son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Gretchen Marinopoulos, and his three grandchildren, Niko, Ella and Zachary, of Amesbury; his sister, Hari Vidalis, of Tinos; his sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Karen Van Allen and Rosario Scarato, of Washington, DC; his nephew, Niko Kalogeorgoros, his nieces, Franceska and Anna Vidaly, both of Tinos, and his niece, Anna Pippou; his niece, Heather Hewson, of Ventura, CA, his niece, Anne Lemieux, of Littleton, CO;and his many grandnieces and grandnephews who loved him dearly.

Visiting hours will be held at Faggas Funeral Home in Watertown on Tuesday, November 24th from 6:00-8:00 pm and funeral services will take place on Wednesday, November 25th at 10:00, also at Faggas Funeral Home in Watertown. A private burial will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the BENJAMIN Child Support Society benefiting children of need in Greece.