Obituary of William Merodias

William (Bill) Merodias was born in Gary, Indiana and spent his childhood there. Bill was proud of his Greek heritage. His courageous father was a Greek immigrant from the island of Samos and his beautiful mother was from the island of Kalymnos. Bill was preceded in death by parents and his sister Thelma Stefonovich. Bill was the first generation born an American citizen. Bill was baptized Basili Merodias in Gary, Indiana. Bill and his younger brother Charlie were very active in sports as teenagers. Bill participated with the track team in high school. He also was a very competitive player with his school's football and wrestling teams. He enjoyed playing and earned a football letter from his school. He and Charlie also boxed with skill and Bill was awarded champion as a Golden Gloves Boxer. During WWII Bill served our country as a paratrooper and fought - as a special duty exhibitor boxer, never seeing active duty overseas. Bill met Angeline (Angie) Anzanos in 1948 and 18 months later they were married. In 1952 Bill & Angie traveled by car to Tucson while Angie was pregnant with their son Harry. To make Angie more comfortable on the long drive from Indiana, Bill took the back seat out of the car and placed an easy chair in its place. It was an act of love that she still fondly remembers. After making their home in Tucson, Bill & Angie had three children: Harry, Cindy & Karen. Their father will be deeply missed. Bill was a faithful member of AHEPA (St. Demetrio's Church Group) for more than 50 years. He and Angie worked every year helping at the Greek festival, until recently when their health became an issue. They loved social events with the church. Their daughter Cindy, her husband Ralph, and their daughters April & Shannon continued the tradition of volunteering at the Greek festivals. Bill was also very active with Optimist Clubs. In 1957 as president of his Optimist Club he built a spec house as a fund raiser for the club. The money from the sale of the home went to the Optimist Club. For his selfless service, Bill was awarded the title of Distinguished President and became a Lifetime Member of Optimist International. Bill helped with Soap Box Derby races for more than 20 years and helped the Optimist Clubs sponsor the races. He finally discontinued participating in this event due to his ill health. His son Harry proudly took his father's place helping to support and manage the races. Following in his father's positive example, Harry remained very active with the Optimist Club activities. While Harry was president of the Optimist Club, he went to Greece with Father Anthony Moschonas and started a number of Optimist Clubs in Greece. These clubs still exist today. Bill loved to fly. After Bill & Angie bought an airplane and Bill got his pilot license, they discovered a group in San Diego called The Flying Samaritans. Once a month Bill flew doctors, dentists, and nurses to the clinic to give the Mexican citizen vital medical care in Baja. Angie was co-pilot and interpreter Bill & Angie expanded the efforts of the original pilots and were instrumental in forming a Southern Arizona Flying Samaritans Group bringing medical care to a clinic in Kino Bay. Bill never lost his love for sports and competition. In 1962 Bill rented an old building on South Main Street and started a Boys' Club for boxing. He donated an old workbench and tools to teach the boys skills in carpentry. He petitioned the Optimist Club and a Lions Club for help and they agreed to pay the rent and utilities of the building. Soon the club became incorporated into The Boys Clubs of America and was officially named The Old Pueblo Boys Club. Many of the boys had little sisters who wanted to play too. Therefore, Bill & Angie made arrangements for a building for the girls club. A great benefactor friend donated money to Bill to hire a director and to manage the Girls Club. Over time, Urban Renewal projects downtown required that space to build the Tucson Community Center. Undaunted, Bill raised money through his Optimist Club for a new Old Pueblo Boys Club building on 36th Street. In 1976 the national representatives for The Boys Clubs of America honored him with the Boys Clubs Medallion, the highest honor they could give. Bill is known as Founder of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson and is on their Emeritus Board. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Tucson grew from his vision of one small club downtown into 6 large thriving clubs proudly serving 6000 kids a year. Bill was a General Contractor and owner of Merodias Construction Company. He built many homes, restaurants, school additions, and churches in Tucson. One of his proudest works was building the St. Demetrios Church located on Ft. Lowell Rd. Later, he also built the classrooms for the church. He built the Rose & Clarence Drake Youth Center along with many volunteers from the church. Bill was featured on the cover of The Better Homes and Gardens Magazine for building the "Idea Home of The Year" in 1957, 1958, 1959, & 1960. His son Harry worked with Merodias Construction and his daughter Karen assisted with the Construction Company and architectural drafting - a talent he taught her and she continues to this date. Bill & Angie were both accomplished Real Estate Investors. Bill had to retire from the construction business the end of 1979. He and Angie still continued their Real Estate Investments with the assistance of daughter Cindy and son Harry. After retiring from construction Bill became an accomplished artist adorning the walls of his home and those of family and friends with his artwork. Once he filled all the wall space he set up a woodworking shop and expressed his artistic talent by making furniture for family members and beautiful bowls and other wood items. In his retirement he and Angie kept busy with clubs & organizations. They were members of the Four Wheel Drive club and Rough Riders where they could be seen driving his 6 wheel jeep. Also members of the VW club with his La Hormiga and the Koi club with his tranquil back yard pond. He so enjoyed feeding and sitting and watching his Koi. Bill could often be seen driving one of his unique cars such as his Zimmer Golden Spirit, which looked like Quella De Vill's car and later his Tiffany. He continued his competitive spirit by playing two to five times a week tennis and or racquet ball, till the age of 78, often with people twenty to thirty years younger and usually beat them at the game. Bill lived a full and successful life due in part to the support and assistance of his beautiful wife Angie. He was extremely thankful and proud of his family. Bill was a devoted family man. He will be deeply missed by Angie, his loving wife of 66 years. He was an inspiration and loving parent to his children and their families: Harry Merodias, Cindy & Ralph Montenegro, and Karen Merodias. Bill delighted in his grandchildren and loved watching them grow. He leaves behind a heritage that includes: Will & Tracy DeCook, Katrina DeCook, April & Tom Urff, Shannon & Kyle Reedy. He was deeply loved by his beautiful great grandchildren, Alyssa & Abrianna Urff. Bill is also survived by his brother Charlie Merodias and many nieces and nephews. Donations can be made to St. Demetrios Church, Tucson, AZ and The Boys Club of Tucson.