Vasilios (Vasilis) Galanopoulos was born in Salmoni, Greece, a small town near the city of Pyrgos in the Peloponnese, on December 27, 1929; he passed on June 20, 2019.  He was 89. He lost his dad when he was 10 years old and moved to Athens with extended family to start apprenticing as a mechanic and later a welder. As the oldest of four children, he would have to start working at a young age to help his mom care for their family; he would be unable to fulfill his dream of becoming an engineer.  He became a talented, sought-after master heliarc welder and worked first for the Hellenic Ministry of Agriculture in Athens and later for Colonial Engineering Company in Cambridge and Georgetown, MA. In 1973 he immigrated to the United States with his wife, Kaiti, and three young daughters in search of a higher standard of living and education for his children.  He insisted that his children would speak only Greek at home to keep their culture and heritage alive, so they would be able to also pass it on to their own children. He gained three sons when his sons-in-law joined the family. His pride and joy were his seven grandchildren whom he helped to raise: Vassilis, Andreas, and Stefanos from Anastasia and Nikos; Alexandra and Marina from Helen and Marcel; and Yiorgo and Katerina from Angela and Stelios.

Vasilis was practical and humble.  He found common ground with young and old, wealthy and poor; he had friends from all walks of life.  He could always pinpoint the bottom line of any argument faster than anyone else. In his signature way, with his resonant voice and vibrant storytelling ability, he was the center of every family and social gathering.  He was a voracious reader and consumer of international news; he loved a good political debate. A man of faith, he had just finished reading The Apocalypse of St. John the Apostle .  He was the ultimate sports enthusiast, following his beloved Greek soccer team, AEK, and talking with his grandchildren and friends about their wins and losses. He never missed a Celtics game on TV.  He had many friends both in the U.S. and Greece and counted the days to his spring flight to Athens each year. He loved spending his summers in Agioi Apostoloi, just outside of Athens, seeing his brother, nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces, as well as other family members; he was due to fly to Athens 3 days prior to his accident.  He died peacefully at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA under the care of compassionate and talented nurses and physicians, surrounded by his entire family, listening to his favorite Greek music by Vasilis Tsitsanis.

In addition to his wife, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren, Vasili Galanopoulos is survived in the United States by his brother-in-law James Pagounes, his wife Joanne, and their children Othon, Kimon, and Iraklis of Waltham, MA. He is also survived by loving relatives in Greece, who he always kept close to his heart: his brother Asimakis Galanopoulos, sister-in-law Eleni, and their adult children Petro and Kiki, Petro's wife Eftyhia and their daughters Eleni and Chrysanthi. Vasili is also survived by his nephew, Niko and niece, Fotoula, the children of his late sister Persephone Avramopoulou and her late husband Anastasios Avramopoulos. Vasili was also the brother of the late Anastasia Galanopoulou of Athens.