Panagiotis G. “Pete” Petrakoyannis

Violent Death Sent Immigrant to Grave in Land He Left by Al Frisbie Omaha World Herald July 5, 1976 Panagiotis G. Petrakoyannis, the son of a farmer, was born in a tiny Greek community of Magoula in the province of Messenia. George F. Beagle was born in Kansas City, MO. The odds of their meeing would stagger the laws of probability. Yet their lives, different in almost every respect, merged tragically in Omaha last year. The routes each took to the fateful day could not have been more diverse. Panagiotis Petrakoyannis was born April 23, 1917. By the time George Beagle was born on Jun 21, 1935, Petrakoyannis was attending high school in his native land. He was a good student, quick to learn and interested in the world about him. In 1935, that world was becoming increasingly aware of a man with terrifying intentions. The name: Adolf Hitler. Another name was in the news, too. It was Benito Mussolini who had dispatched soldiers to invade Ethiopia that year. Hitler and Mussolini and the nations they headed would loom large in the world of Panagiotis Petrakoyannis. When Italy invaded Greece in 1940, Sgt. Petrakoyannis was among the soldiers who turned back the Italians' advance and pursued the invaders into neighboring Albania. But when Hitler dispatched German forces to assist the Italians, Greece was doomed. In later years, Panatgiotis Petrakoyannis talked little of his experiences as a soldier or of the cruel years he and his countrymen endured during the Nazi occupation. after the war, he worked on his father's farm again. But his hopes extended beyond the land he tilled. The United States, he had heard, was the country of opportunity. He had uncles there - in a place called Omaha in a state called Nebraska. In 1951, he reached a major decision . He would come to Omaha although he could not speak a word of English. After he arrived , he changed his name as his uncles had before him. At age 34, Pantagiotis Petrakoyannis began a new life in a new country with a new name: Pete G. Petros. By then Pete Petros was adjusting to his life in Omaha. he was struggling to master a new language and had worked as a car cleaner with the Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad. By 1955, he was a manager of a frozen food catering service which his uncle George Petros, operated along with the Tower coffee shop at 2763 Farnam St. Pete Petros's life would continue smoothly for the next few years . He would work in his uncle's restaurant, Omaha's Ambassador Café; live with another uncle, Gust Petros, at 504 S. 24th St. In 1957, Pete Petros officially became a U.S. citizen. That year he also was named godfather to Maria Aftonomos, the infant daughter of another Greek immigrant, Byron Aftonomos. It was an honor he gladly accepted. For Maria's father was a good friend of his. Aftonomos said Pete was a lonely man. His speech, despite long hours of night school, still bore heavy traces of his native land. And he remained a bachelor although he had lady friends. He felt he was too old to marry. It happened on July 7, 1975, when the paths of Pete G. Petros and George F. Beagle finally crossed. Petros struggle with the gunman who had returned with a sawed off shotgun. In the struggle, the weapon discharged, wounding Petros in the stomach. He died in the hospital a few hours later. Pete Petros' body was returned to Greece. He was buried in a cemetery in a little town that was home to him as a boy and young man. Although he had no relatives here, his funeral here at St. John's Greek Orthodox Church was well attended. Omaha World Herald - July 1975