Alexandra “Sandy” Karuntzos August 23, 1939 – December 10, 2024
Services will be held all in one day Saturday December 14th at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 11025 South Roberts Road, Palos Hills, IL 60465. Visitation from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Funeral Service to begin promptly at 10:30 AM and immediately following the visitation. Sandy will be laid to rest at Bethania Cemetery of Justice.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure or a contribution to another charity dedicated to cancer research, treatment, prevention, and support.
For information please call or text Michael Orrico at 815/260-0668
Alexandra “Sandy” Karuntzos, née Panopoulos, died on December 10, 2024. After a long and hard -fought battle with cancer, Sandy passed away peacefully at her home in Orland Park, Illinois. She was 85.
Sandy was born on August 23, 1939, in Kalavryta, Greece. She was the fourth of six children raised by her parents, Tom and Maria Panopoulos, in the small village of Kastria. Sandy was proud, but life was difficult for her family in the mountains of southern Greece. World War II began soon after she was born, and invasions by Italy and Nazi Germany followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively. In 1943, the German Army destroyed Kalavryta, and it nearly exterminated the town’s male population in what is now known as the “Kalavryta massacre.” The occupation of Greece ended, as did World War II, in 1945. But the fighting did not stop. It escalated, and by 1946, the Greek Civil War had erupted. Sandy and her siblings would not see peace until 1949. Living through two armed conflicts by the time she was 10 was a truly formative experience for Sandy, to say the least.
Seeking a better life, and believing in the promise of America, Sandy joined her family on a ship bound for New York City when she was just 16 years old. Immigrating through Ellis Island in 1956, officials changed the family’s surname from “Panopoulos” to “Panos” and sent them on their way to Chicago. With mere pennies in her pockets, Sandy worked in Midwestern factories to help provide for her family. She eventually met John Karuntzos, another Greek immigrant who, like her, had grown up on the Peloponnese Peninsula. After a short courtship, Sandy married John on August 27, 1961.
Sandy and John lived the American dream. Sandy gave birth to four children: Demetra in 1962 ; Maria in 1964; Georgia in 1965; and George in 1967. Originally residing in Northern Indiana, the family eventually settled in Oak Lawn, Illinois, a southwestern suburb of Chicago. There, Sandy and John became successful entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry. In 1987, they opened Jedi’s Restaurant and Grill, which remains a prominent small business in the community and is now owned by Demetra and her husband Tom. Sandy enjoyed playing games, telling jokes, and watching television, but it was her family that brought her pure joy. All four of her children married, and all four of her children had children of their own. Sandy loved her nine grandchildren unconditionally, in every sense of the word. She was a tirelessly devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great -grandmother, and friend. Sandy has the eternal gratitude of many . She will be forever missed by more.
Sandy is survived by John, her husband of 63 years. She is also survived by: her brother Gus (Irene) Panos and her sister Margaret (John) Loxas; her children Demetra (Tom) Papadopoulos, Maria (John) Pavletic, and George (Maureen) Karuntzos; her grandchildren Dimitri (Marta) Papadopoulos (37), Alexandra (Ted) Westfall (35), John “LJ” Pavletic (32), Leo (Meghan) Pavletic (30) , Nicole (Mark) Burklow (29) , Amanda Pavletic (28) , Alesia Karuntzos (27), Alec Fidan (26), and John Karuntzos (25) ; and her great -grandchildren Elena Westfall (5), Kate Westfall (3), James Westfall (2), and Mila Burklow(1). Sandy was preceded in death by: her daughter Georgia Karuntzos Fidan; her parents Tom and Maria Panopoulos; and by her brother Jim (Sofie) Panos, her sister Besse Kourtis, and her brother George (Besse) Panos. Orrico Kourelis Funeral Services Inc. entrusted with all arrangements.
A funeral will be held on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 11025 South Roberts Road, Palos Hills, IL 60465. There will be a visitation at 9:30 a.m. and a service at 10 :30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Susan G. Komen for the Cure or a contribution to another charity dedicated to cancer research, treatment, prevention, and support.