John Pantakis

John (Yianni) Pantakis of Athens, Greece and Ohio, age 80 passed away Sunday morning, August 15, 2021, at his home, surrounded by loving family. Born June 23, 1941, in Athens, Greece, he was the son of the late Polichronos and Chryssa Pantakis.

A veteran of the Greek Air Force, he became a merchant marine and sailed around the world working as a ship’s electrician before immigrating to the United States and moving to Athens, Ohio in 1975, where he owned and operated the Pizza House at 30 N. Court Street, and then Yianni’s Atheneon Carryout at 74 N. Court Street until he retired in 2019. He was a member of St. John’s Greek Orthodox Church in Columbus.

Yianni is survived by his daughter, Adriana (Pantaki) Potter, granddaughter, Mariposa Amaya, his brother, Demetri Pantakis, and niece, Chryssa Pantaki, and nephews, Polichronos, Panoyotes, and Domiono Pantakis and very close family friends Demetrios, Holli, and Vasilios Prokos.

Yianni was a legendary figure in Uptown Athens and affected the lives of many students and locals; everyone who met him has a good story to tell. He excelled at backgammon, chess, pool, arguing a point, and flirting with all the women. He lived to live, not just to exist. He will always be remembered missed by many.

Visitation will be Wednesday, August 18 from 4-6 p.m. with the Trisagion at 5:30 and funeral services on Thursday, August 19 at 1:00 p.m. at Hughes-Moquin Funeral Home in Athens, Ohio. Friends and family are welcomed to sign the online guestbook or leave a message of sympathy at www.hughesmoquinfuneralhome.com.