He passed away at the age of 51 , suddenly, without anyone expecting it. The news of the passing of Petros Stasinos , a long-time gym teacher and former Dean of the St. Demetrios School in Astoria , struck like a thunderbolt in the open air to the community that had known him for decades.
Petros Stasinos passed away after a few days of hospitalization in the Intensive Care Unit of Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, where he resided. “He was a strong man. None of us expected him to leave this way. Not like this,” said his cousin Dr. Koularmanis, visibly devastated.
It all started last Sunday. Petros Stasinos, driving to New Jersey from Astoria, felt intense discomfort and informed his wife that he was going to the hospital. He managed to drive there, but under unclear circumstances he collapsed inside the hospital . According to the same testimony, when his wife arrived, she witnessed the doctors’ attempt to revive him. He was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit, but his condition was now irreversible and he breathed his last on Thursday afternoon.
He left behind his wife Tina , née Boulougouri, his two children, 4-year-old Georgia and 8-year-old Anastasios , his mother Georgia Stassinos, Dr. Anastasios’ first cousins, Georgios and Nikos Koularmanis, with whom he grew up like brothers, as well as a host of relatives and friends.
His cousin’s testimony paints a picture of a man who didn’t count what he gave. “He was a man who helped everyone. He helped so many kids who had drug problems. A kid came to me recently and told me he was involved in drugs and I helped him stop, I gave him money to go get help,” he said.
His relationship with the Agios Dimitrios school was decisive. “Petros didn’t measure you by money. If you needed something, he did it. We all grew up in Korona. He gave everything to the school, the children. He was initially a gym teacher and then we made him Dean. The students loved him, they talked to him on the street. If you go on social networks now, you will see that they are uploading photos with him,” adds Dr. Koularmanis.
In recent years, he had retired from active teaching at the Lyceum of Agios Dimitrios, dedicating his time to a business installing credit card machines. His bond with the school, however, was never broken. He made sure that his own children studied there.
Perhaps this detail says more than any other. “Petros was qualified to teach in public schools in the area, but he preferred to serve the Greek schools. He also enrolled his children in Agios Dimitrios, two hours away from his home . This shows how much he loved Hellenism,” concluded Dr. Koularmanis.
The open visitation will take place next Tuesday, September 8th at the Antonopoulos Funeral Home , at 38-08 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday morning at the Cathedral of St. Demetrius in Astoria.
