(March 14, 1932 – January 14, 2021) passed away peacefully at Emmanuel House Hospice in Hamilton in his 88th year. Loving father of Michael (Peigi) of Maple, Alex (Christina Marshall) of Toronto, Tim of Winnipeg, and Christina Palmer (Dave) of Vancouver. Predeceased by his first wife, Gertrude Papakyriakou, parents Michael and Virginia Papakyriakou (Greece), and loving aunt Alice Licos (Greece). Remembered lovingly by wife Gertraud Singh and her daughter Sheila (Stevan Gacesa) and her son Raja (Priya Arora). Survived by his sister Niki (George Thomas) of Ottawa, and her children Michelle (Christian) and James (Linda) and their families. He will also be so sadly missed by grandchildren John (Alison), Ben (Milan), Matt (Kristen), Ashleigh, Brendan, Nick, Alexander, Rafael and Rohan. Not to be forgotten, “Big Papa” will also be greatly missed by great grandchildren Theo and Troy. John arrived on Canadian soil in 1955 from Greece. Upon completing an Engineering degree at McGill University in Montreal, he moved to Ontario for a work term at Ontario Hydro in Niagara Falls. He then worked at Westinghouse in Hamilton. In November 1958, John started work at El-Met-Parts in Dundas, Ontario, a company that makes laminations for electric motors. Remaining there for 62 years, he led a management buyout of El-Met-Parts in 1987. This kept the company in Dundas, and continued to provide employment to generations of Dundas residents. In addition to being a hard-working entrepreneur, he was a devoted family man. He made his family feel loved and honoured. A private celebration of John’s life will be held at Turner Funeral Home in Dundas on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. A larger celebration to honour this wonderful man will be held when larger gatherings will be allowed. The family would like to recognize the compassionate and professional care provided by Bayshore Home Health and Emmanuel House Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Panagia Greek Orthodox Church and Emmanuel House Hospice (both in Hamilton).
905-628-6412
info@turnerfh.ca
Dear Uncle John, I have very fond childhood memories when you were with Gerdrut in the Montafon, I would like to thank you for them. And for the support that everything in the Montafon in Galgenul has been regulated. You and Aunt Gerdrut will be forever remembered in my heart. Thank you for everything your Petra Stocker
Our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to the Papakyriakou family.
May God rest his soul and grant you all peace and comfort.
Memory everlasting✝️
Sincerely
Peter and Angela Mouriopoulos
He was a fine gentleman, may his memory be eternal. Condolences to the family
I am sorry for your loss. John was a good man and a special friend to
me , Brian and my family. He was a kind and generous person an amazing family man and a true gentleman. He earned the respect and affection of everyone he worked with and interacted. It is a great loss.
May his memory be eternal.
With love
Brian and Eleni Inglis
Please accept my heartfelt condolences for your loss. On behalf of my parents, Korais and Irini Pappas, you have their deepest sympathy. They shared his kindness and generosity with me, towards the Church and all of the parishioners. May his memory be eternal.
Dear Alex, it was an honor and joy to have known and worked with your Dad and with you. I’m sorry for your loss, I pray that the peace of God will be with you and your Family as you celebrate your Dad’s life and legacy. His smile, hospitality and positive attitude will remain in my memory.
God bless you.
Ricardo Rivas
John was a wonderful man, and will be well remembered with respect in business, but most importantly, he was such a gentleman and so nice to me in my dealings with him. I miss enjoying our business lunches with him.
My condolences to Alex and your family, Karen Bell.
I’m very sorry to hear of John’s passing, he was an entertaining and enjoyable businessman to work with. It was obvious when talking to John how proud he was of his family. I hope your fond memories will provide strength and comfort during this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Mark Quinn
My sincere sympathy in the loss of our Friend, John. He & His company was a stalwart & reliable part of our supply chain for many years. We appreciated His pride,and rightly so, of His many accomplishments
Our deepest sympathy to John’s family at this sad time. Our thoughts are with you.
John, was a very good friend and mentor and will be remembered and missed.
I regret that we lost contact lately but I often remember him and drew on his advice. Even though we sometimes argued, he was always right.
George and Sandra Flosman
On behalf of the Mitropoulos family, I would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the Papakyriakou family. We are so sorry for your loss. Papa John was a kind, brilliant and generous man. It was always so apparent how much he loved you all!
We hope you will soon have the opportunity to celebrate the beautiful life he lived and remember the good times you shared as a family. It is with so much love, admiration and respect for John Papakyriakou that we write this message to you all. Our hearts are with you during these difficult times.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of our loving friend John. He was a wonderful man who positively impacted our lives through his thoughtfulness and charm. All of the laughter and wonderful memories we shared together will be missed but never forgotten. Our deepest condolences go out to his family during this difficult time of loss.
To Alex and the entire family, my sincere condolences on your loss. John was a great man and his memory will last forever. As I’ve always told people, John was the only person in their 80’s I’d ever met who I could sit and chat with for hours. As a business associate of his in my 30’s, John took the time to actually care about my thoughts on subjects, even though his experience outweighed mine 3 fold. He genuinely cared. My prayers and best wishes to the Papakyriakou family on the loss of a truly great man.
John was exceptional man and will be missed.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family at this sad time
RIP John P
Please accept our most sincere and heartfelt condolences from my family to yours. John will be missed.
I worked for El-Met-Parts Inc. for seventeen years until I retired. I enjoyed working for the management team of which JP was the “chief” and had last say. For an entrepreneur, I never met a team player who worked harder than John. His work day must have averaged sixteen hours and that was a six to seven day week. For example, my job interview with JP was at 5:00 p.m. on a Sunday because he just flew in that afternoon, completing a business trip.
John was a very personable individual who treated his employees with consideration and generosity. He will be greatly missed by his family and his El-Met family. My condolences to Alex and the family.
Sincerely,
Rod Brown.
Dear Alex and Family: After graduating College I came to work for John in 1962 to 1975. He was an extremely valuable mentor for me during those early formative years. I learned so much from him. I hope you let me know when you have a “Celebration of his Life”, when large gatherings are again allowed, so I can pass my heartfelt thoughts and condolences on to you and family in person. Again, I am sorry for your loss. Sincerely, Bill Charney
We were very sorry to hear of John’s passing and send our condolences to his entire family. We have wonderful memories of John in both business and social contexts. John was “one of a kind”. Conversations with him were always stimulating no matter the topic. He will be missed.
John & Judy Wood
My heartfelt condolences and sympathy to all the family. Papa will be remembered for his inspiration, wisdom, kindness, generosity, and hard work ethic. He loved and cared for his family deeply, they were the center of his life. He will be missed greatly and remembered forever.
Deepest condolences…from Graham and Rena Robinson…fondest memories of your wedding Alex and how my wife had such a connection with your Dad and their common Greek culture and customs….and my wife’s family so appreciated what he did for their church…deepest condolences..
To Alex and family, my sincere condolences on your loss. John was a pillar in the North American lamination industry. He put Dundas and Canada on the electrical steel market map. His legacy will be eternal.
Sincerely,
Randy Hayes
We would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the entire Papakyriakou family. We were saddened to hear the news. JP was a kind and generous man and we are truly sorry for your loss. Both Costas and I worked for JP at El-Met and we have the utmost respect and admiration for him. He truly cared for everyone around him.
One can only hope that in the near future you will be able to celebrate JP’s life and remember the good times you shared as a family.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult times. May JP Rest In Peace. ❤️
Costas and Alyssa
We are sorry to hear of John,s passing . John was always a fun person . He was also a person of high integrity . We had many fun times together. I always enjoyed his selection of restaurants and wine . We will miss him .
Our sympathies go to Gertraud , Alex and family
Bob and Julie Dilworth
On behalf of the Suenaga family, we are so sorry for your loss and our sincere condolences to all of the family.
I have particularly fond memories of your father smiling when he said hello and always had positive things to say. We were fortunate to have such wonderful neighbours.
I read somewhere: “A good life leaves behind seeds that keep on growing. Your father’s stories, his values, and his love of family all live on in you…what a wonderful legacy.”