Thomas Pagoulatos

THOMAS PAGOULATOS

Former Elizabeth School Teacher, Elizabeth-Cranford Realtor and World War II Veteran

Thomas Pagoulatos, 91, currently of Barnegat Township, former resident of Cranford, died on July 31, 2019 surrounded by the love of his family. Viewing will be held on from 4 to 8 on August 5, 2019 at the Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Avenue, Westfield, NJ. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 250 Gallows Hills Road, Westfield. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.

Born in Paterson and raised in Elizabeth, Tom moved to Cranford in 1958 and retired to Barnegat in 2003. He enjoyed sports (a true Giant and Mets fan) and was an active performer with the Mirage Players in Barnegat, an entertainment group who performed numerous Broadway shows.

Upon graduating from Thomas Jefferson HS in Elizabeth, he enlisted in the US Navy during World War II, serving on the USS Little Rock, a light cruiser. Upon returning, he attended Trenton State Teachers College receiving a B.S. in Education and later earned his Masters from Columbia University.

Mr. Pagoulatos taught school at both Hamilton Jr. High and Battin High in Elizabeth from 1952 to 1957. He later began a career in Real Estate and with his brother, George, opened Paige, Paige & Richards Realtors in Elizabeth which subsequently moved to Cranford.

Mr. Pagoulatos was very active in the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Church in Westfield and was one of its founding fathers. He served on the Board of Directors for the first 10 years and was the Fund Raising Chairman during that period.

Tom was a loving father and grandfather who lived his life for his family. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 51 years, Athena Pagoulatos (Varos), who passed away in July of 2010. He was the loving father of his daughter, Christina Friedman (husband Dave), and his son, Thomas M. Pagoulatos (wife Jessica) and grandfather of Andrea Fontana (husband Kevin), Christian McCarthy, Damian Pagoulatos and Maverick Pagoulatos. He delighted in his recent great grandfather status of Joseph and Patrick Fontana and predeceases his sister-in-law Pauline Pagoulatos and his nephew Michael (wife Rita). His brother George passed in 2017.

In lieu of flowers, donations will be accepted at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

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