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The Tarpon Springs resident and husband of a former mayor also was an avid historian.
By KATHERINE GAZELLA
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 25, 2001
TARPON SPRINGS -- George D. Protos, a lifelong Tarpon Springs resident, pharmacist and husband of former Mayor Anita Protos, died Sunday at Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital. He was 64.
Mr. Protos worked as a pharmacist at Kmart in Tarpon Springs. He was a member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral and a former member of the church's board of directors. He was a former board president of the Sponge Exchange and the Old Timers Club in Tarpon Springs.
"He was well-known and well-regarded," said Robert Mann, a retired appeals court judge who knew Mr. Protos through the Old Timers Club and other organizations. "He was active in civic affairs, but I think he was pleased to let Anita lead the parade."
Before going to Kmart, Mr. Protos worked for Bellas Hess Pharmacy, Touchton Drugs and Super-X in Clearwater.
He worked at Kmart for 31 years and was preparing to retire soon, said former Mayor George Psaras, who also was a Kmart pharmacist and knew Mr. Protos most of his life. They attended Tarpon Springs High School together and graduated from the University of Florida School of Pharmacy at the same time.
Customers at Kmart differentiated between the two Georges with nicknames that referred to their heights, Psaras said.
"We've been together for many, many decades. . . . I was Little George; he was Big George," Psaras said. "He's going to be missed immensely."
Mr. Protos was an avid historian of the Confederacy and the Civil War, and of Tarpon Springs and the sponge industry.
He was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and the Kappa Psi National Pharmacists Fraternity and was a special deputy of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
He is survived by Mrs. Protos, his wife of 35 years; daughter Harriet Protos of Naples; and his sister Angel Feagin, a niece and a nephew, all of Sebring.
A viewing will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Vinson Funeral Home, 456 E Tarpon Ave. The service will be 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Tarpon Springs, the philanthropic Philoptochos Society in Tarpon Springs or the restoration fund for the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, a New York City church that was destroyed in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
A restoration fund for the New York church has been set up at 8010 5th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y., 11209.
- Staff writer Katherine Gazella can be reached at (727) 445-4182 or gazella@sptimes.com.