Konstantinos "Gus" Fotopoulos

Konstantinos “Gus” Fotopoulos was born in Greece on November 18, 1961. However, as a child his parents moved to the United States, and on March 20, 1978, he became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States.

He was called by his nickname, “Gus” which was given to him by his father. He was the only child of his parents and they lavished love upon him. His father was in the merchant marine and eventually settled in Pensacola where his father became a well-respected house painter. Gus’ mother never learned to speak English but it didn’t matter as Gus was fully bilingual in both Greek and English.

His mother was a fabulous cook and very often would bring Gus some of her incredible Greek dishes to him in Marianna. She always brought enough food for several people. Yet, Gus would eat it all. She also always led Gus in a Communion Service before his meal as her Greek Orthodox faith was the bedrock of her life.

Gus was well known to break out singing some of the childhood songs in Greek and when asked, he would gladly translate what the words meant. There are three things about Gus that everyone who knew him got to know: 1) he loved his father and mother; 2) he loved food but especially his mom’s fantastic home-cooked Grecian foods; and 3) Gus loved candy, particularly chocolate.

Staff that would take Gus from Marianna to Pensacola for a home visit would always be welcome to his parent’s home and enjoyed her meals. We also got to see a little game that Mrs. Fotopoulos played with Gus as she would hide some of his favorite chocolate candies all over the house under seat cushions, in drawers, behind pictures and decorations so Gus could hunt, find, and consume them before the meals.

It was observed by all who had the privilege of seeing his mom serve up her meals to hear her say in some of the few English words she spoke, “Eat, eat! You eat more, I have more!”.

Gus was not originally informed about the death of his father as they were so very close. Nor was he immediately told about his mom’s death. But later we would tell him his parents were in Heaven. He would usually say, “Yes, they are in heaven” and we believe he understood.

After Gus became so critically ill, his very close relative, Elleni would speak with him and one of the last things she said to him was, “Gus, if you see your parents coming, it is okay and you can go to them.” Shortly after that he fell asleep and on Tuesday, April 28th, Gus joined his beloved father and mother in the presence of the Lord.

Gus was a resident at the Sunland Center in Marianna from March 1984, until his passing. He was loved and cared for by so many people over the 42 years we got to share with him and he will be missed by all.

Funeral services will be 2:00 PM, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, with Father Kalatzis officiating at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, located on 1720 W. Garden Street, Pensacola, FL 32502. Interment will follow in Bayview Memorial Park, 3351 Scenic, East Hwy 90, Pensacola, FL 32503.