Harilaos Vasilios Costarides

Harilaos V. Costarides passed away on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 in San Francisco, California after a courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his loving parents, Vasilios and Vasso Costarides of Atlanta; sister, Marina Costarides and niece Christina of Atlanta; brother, Tasso Costarides (Danielle) of Atlanta; brother, George Costarides of Atlanta; brother, Nicholas Costarides of New York; goddaughter, Zaiyanna of Italy, and many relatives and friends in the United States, Greece, and Italy.

Harilaos (Hari) was born in Atlanta, GA on June 19, 1971. He graduated from Lakeside High School in DeKalb County and received a B.A. in Literature, Emory University; Literary Studies, Georgia State University; and an M.A. in English, Portland State University.Hari was a dedicated professor of literature and composition for over 20 years at City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University where he was committed to helping his students improve their writing skills, appreciate and analyze literature, and encourage their creativity. He was a compassionate mentor and selfless in his efforts to help others. Hari was also a sought-after communications consultant and technical writer for the biotech industry. As an avid reader, Hari enjoyed almost every literary genre from the classics to science fiction. Hari was also a tech enthusiast who loved to keep up with the latest gadgets. Some of Hari’s other passions were DJ’ing, martial arts including Krav Maga and MMA, photography, cinema, and Greek culture. Most recently, Hari took up camping in Northern California with his life-long friends.

Our Hari was a loving and devoted son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, and friend who left us much too soon, however, we are blessed to have had Hari in our lives for forty-eight precious years. Our beloved Hari will forever be in our hearts.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Harilaos V. Costarides to the UCSF Foundation for Cancer Research and Care (https://giving.ucsf.edu/funds/cancer), UCSF Foundation, P.O. BOX 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339 or to “Guardian Scholars” at the Foundation of City College of San Francisco (https://foundationccsf.org/donation/), The Foundation of CCSF, c/o Russell Frost Associates, PO Box 2879, Alameda, CA 94501.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with the Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. at A.S. Turner Funeral Home, 2773 N. Decatur Rd, Decatur, Georgia 30033. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, 2500 Clairmont Rd, Atlanta, GA 30329. Interment services will follow at Floral Hills Memory Gardens, 3150 Lawrenceville Highway, Tucker, GA 30084.