Mr. John Konstantine Halkias

John Konstantine Halkias, 71, of Richland, passed away peacefully at St. Dominic’s Hospital on Monday, October 5, 2015. The funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, October 8th at Holy Trinity – Saint John’s The Theologian Greek Orthodox Church, 5725 S. Pear Orchard Road., Jackson, MS 39211. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Richland Cemetery. John was born in Vrontomas near Sparta, Greece, on September 23, 1944 to Konstantine and Sophia Halkias. He moved to Bridgeport, CT in 1969 speaking little English, which he taught himself. In 1974, he moved to Jackson, where he met the local Greek Orthodox Christian community, providing him with many best friends. There he also met and married the love of his life, Virginia. Together, they co-owned and operated Old Timer’s Bar-B-Que in Richland for 30 years. John was well known by his customers for his quick wit and constant presence behind the counter. A proud Greek American, he hung flags of Greece and the United States, along with pictures of his family trips to Greece. An avid sports enthusiast, he was a lifelong fan of the Greek soccer team, Panathinailos, and followed the New Orleans Saints through their darkest days. John is preceded in death by his father and mother. Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Virginia; son, Konstantine “John” Halkias of Ridgeland; daughter, Sophia H. Maneck (Neil) of Jackson; brothers, Peter Halkias (Pauline) of Bridgeport, CT, and George Halkias of Melbourne, Austraila; sisters, Yamondo Parthimos (Starvros) of Melbourne, Eleni of Melbourne, and Panagiota “Pitza” Rigopoulos (George) of Melbourne; aunt, “Thea” Mary Kontogianni of Athens, Greece; and numerous cousins around the world. A loving, dedicated husband and father, John will be dearly missed by all his family. His will be remembered for his strength even through illness, and trait embodied by his cherished nickname, Athanatos “lives forever” in Greek, first given to his father. The family would like to thank the staff at St. Dominic’s, including nurse, Marsha and the 4 West ICU staff, his home health care nurse, Joncie and his CNA, Cherie for their excellent care of John in his final day.