Romilos Ioannides

Romilos A. Ioannides was born on September 20, 1933, in Athens, Greece. Roy was the eldest son of Aristides Elias Ioannides and Maria Spirou Stasiades. Their roots stretched back to Turkey. Roy's father, Aristides, was a chanter in the Greek Orthodox Church, while his mother, Maria, worked as a cook and dietitian for the British Embassy in Athens.

Roy grew up in Athens during WWII when Greece was under German occupation. Roy experienced the scarcity and uncertainty during those times when his stepmother, Olga, ran a black market store. Despite these hardships, he maintained optimism and a positive outlook throughout his life. Resourceful and determined, even as a young man, Roy helped support his family by tutoring classmates, raising silkworms, and selling handmade kites.

Roy's early life was marked by encounters that would shape his worldview-none more striking than the friendship he formed with a German soldier during the war, a connection that helped him find humanity in the most unlikely of places.

In 1953, carrying the $50 he had saved from selling rabbits and kites, Roy left Greece for the United States. Sponsored by relatives and armed with acceptance letters from Georgia Tech, Purdue, and UCLA, he immigrated by ship to America.

Roy arrived in New Jersey eager to pursue educational opportunities, but first, he needed to supplement his income. Roy's first job, arranged through his uncle, was at Howard Johnson, where he washed dishes and developed a lifelong love of ice cream. With additional funds necessary to start his education, he moved to Atlanta, choosing to attend Georgia Tech, where he majored in architecture.

As he had in Greece, Roy continued working to put himself through school. With his gregarious personality and charm, he quickly rose through the ranks to become the maître d' at Camellia Gardens. The role not only helped him improve his English, but also required him to purchase a white dinner jacket-the very same one he would wear years later at his wedding.

Roy then transferred to Georgia State University, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1960. While at school, Roy became fully integrated in the Greek community. He attended the Greek Church of the Annunciation on Prior Street, where he heard the angelic voice of his future bride, Angela J. Chotas. With his love for music and the Byzantine chant mastered by his father, he joined the choir. Over time, he fell in love with Angela, and in 1958, they married.

Roy and Angela were given a house on Monroe Circle by Angela's parents, John and Mary. With his diploma in hand, Roy left behind the odd jobs that helped him through school and began teaching mathematics at Roosevelt High School in Atlanta.

During those early years, Roy and Angela had two of their three sons, Artie and Paul. Angela lovingly sewed matching suits and accessories for the boys, which they wore proudly to church each Sunday, joining the ranks of the other "choir babies."

Roy took advantage of the National Science Foundation initiative to advance STEM instruction and pursued a Master's in Math from Emory University, moved his family to Morningside in 1966, and in 1969 welcomed their third son, John.

In 1973, Roy left his job as the head of the Math Department at Roosevelt and accepted a position at Pace Academy. The job was a result of Roy joining a group of dancers promoting the Annual Greek Festival for the students at Pace Academy. Always outgoing, Roy approached the headmaster, George Kirkpatrick, asked, and was appointed to a job teaching Math.

Roy and Angela continued to live lives rooted in family, faith, and community. They often met newly arrived immigrants in Church and would invite them into their home, offering Sunday dinners and, in some cases, a place to stay as they settled into Atlanta.

Angela was an active member of Philoptochos, while Roy served on the Parish Council and lent his tenor voice not only to the Annunciation Choir, where he sang alongside Angela and occasionally joined the Psaltis.

Outside of Church, Roy's love of music extended to the broader community. He participated in numerous local performances, including a role in a local production of Rigoletto. He also joined the cast of several musicals at Pace Academy where he had memorable roles in Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof-often improvising with humorous lines.

Roy and Angela also volunteered for the annual Atlanta Greek Festival. Angela made tray after tray of homemade baklava, and together, conducted cooking classes year after year. Roy was a proud member of the Greek dance troupe. One of Roy's favorite stories describes helping Angela with her costume work for the Greek Festival. Angela was an excellent seamstress and often made traditional costumes for the dancers.

On one occasion, she was asked to make costumes for a group of belly dancers. Roy went along to help, holding the measuring tape and writing down the sizes. He joked about staying focused on the task at hand while feeling a bit uncomfortable. It was a story he told often, and it always got a laugh.

Roy retired from Pace Academy in 1999, after years of teaching, tutoring, and helping children of friends enroll with high acceptance rates at the school. His classroom was full of character, much like Roy himself. Students loved to joke about getting a grade of fis-, fish,, or fish+, all because Roy wrote a lowercase Greek alpha that looked more like a fish than an "A." He was also famous for telling every class, "Mathematics is the key to the universe!" Anyone who knew Roy quickly learned never to mention the "F" word-Fibonacci-unless they were ready for a lengthy lecture on the beauty of number patterns and the Golden Section.

Roy faced deep personal loss with strength and his charismatic optimism. He lost his son Paul in 1996 and his beloved wife, Angela, in 2004-losses that broke his heart. Angela was the love of his life; he never remarried. Despite his grief, Roy remained engaged, attending every event with a warm smile and kind word for everyone.

He spent his later years sharing a home with his son John, daughter-in-law Dale, and grandson Nicholas. He continued to travel to Greece annually, visited his son Ari and daughter-in-law Ember in Park City, Utah, and joined the entire family on vacations, always bringing energy and joy wherever he went.

Roy is preceded in death by his wife, Angela John Chotas Ioannides; his son, Paul Romilos Ioannides; and his brother, Elias Aristides Ioannides. He is survived by his sons, Aristides Ioannides (and wife Ember Conley), and John Ioannides (and wife Dale), along with four grandchildren: Maria, Katerina, Alexia, and Nicholas Ioannides.