John Koutoufaris, 84
DOVER - John Koutoufaris passed away peacefully early in the morning of September 29, 2020 with his family at his side. In addition to his parents, Triantafillos and Irene (Cozamanis) Koutoufaris, he was preceded in death by a baby daughter in 1966 and a sister, Polexeni Savvakis, in 1995.
He was born on August 15, 1936 in the town of Evdilos on the Greek Island of Ikaria. The eldest of five children born into a seafaring family, his love for the water was forged at an early age sailing on his father's boats from island to island carrying grain and other cargo. Later, he traveled the world on commercial vessels as a first officer in the Greek Merchant Marine.
He said that ever since he was a little boy in war-torn Europe, his dream was to come to the United States. When his ship docked in Philadelphia in 1956, he took the opportunity to visit his uncle, Jack Cozamanis, in Wilmington, Delaware. As luck would have it, a winter blizzard closed the Mid-Atlantic and he fortuitously never returned to the ship. He lived in Wilmington with his uncle's family and began working in various restaurants – Three Little Bakers, The Avenue Restaurant in Rehoboth, and The Hub in Dover - learning not only English, but baking, butchering, and every other aspect of the restaurant business. June of 1958, while working at Candyland, a teenage soda fountain hangout on Loockerman Street in Dover, was when he met the love of his life, Marlene, the daughter of the late Judge and Mrs. Ernest V. Keith. Marlene had a summer secretarial job across the street at Dover Appliance and ate lunch at Candyland every weekday. She says she fell in love with him and his grilled cheese sandwich…it must have been one heck of a grilled cheese sandwich, because it was the beginning of a relationship lasting 62 years – after 3 years of courtship, John and Marlene were married on November 25, 1961 at Peoples Church in Dover.
Shortly after they met, he left Candyland and with partners opened The Rendezvous Restaurant in Rodney Village Shopping Center, becoming sole owner in 1961. Over the years which followed, he became partners in or sole owner of a number of successful restaurants – Capt. John's Family Restaurant, Capt. John's Pancake House, Bay Fisherman Restaurant, Sea Horse Restaurant, and Glasgow Arms Restaurant as well as Colony Inns Restaurants and Motels. However, the highlight of his career for nearly four decades was the creation in 1967 of the historic, award-winning Blue Coat Inn on Silver Lake in Dover which was originally opened with his brother-in-law, Roger Keith, before he and Marlene became sole proprietors. Because of the overwhelming popularity of the Blue Coat Inn for lunch and dinner, and patrons' asking for a breakfast place, they opened the Blue Coat Pancake House north of the Inn in 1988, which was later renamed The Countrie Eatery and today remains a popular family-owned restaurant. John and Marlene's youngest son, Taki, operates the Countrie Eatery, learned his cooking skills from his father, and is now an accomplished chef.
John's hard work and dedication as an entrepreneur and local business leader were honored on a number of occasions over the years. He was a charter member of the Delaware Restaurant Association – a Director for 3 years, Vice-President in 1972, Delaware Restaurant Man of the Year in 1972, and received a Distinguished Service Award in 1984. The Friends of Old Dover presented him with a preservation award in 1979. A proud naturalized citizen of the United States, he was Delaware's Outstanding Young Republican of the Year in 1972. He served as Director and Chairman of the Board for the Southern Delaware Chamber of Commerce in 1990, and was honored as Small Business Person of the Year by the Central Delaware Chamber of Commerce in 1991. He served a 3-year appointment on the Delaware Private Industry Council. He was a member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Wilmington. His love of the water remained a special part of his life and he enjoyed his membership in the Blue Hen Power Squadron and the days spent on his sailboat, The Trimartak, sailing on the Chesapeake Bay and along the eastern seaboard.
Rarely did you not see John walking the grounds of the Blue Coat Inn or the Eatery, keeping tabs on the kitchen, greeting guests in the dining rooms, or doing maintenance work himself. In recent years, John and his wife could be seen in the corner round table for dinner nearly every evening at the Countrie Eatery where they enjoyed meals with friends, meeting new people and talking with customers. As Will Rogers once said, "I never met a man I didn't like," so was the philosophy of John. He loved people and lived his life being kind and generous to all, which is hoped what will be remembered when thinking of him.
John is survived by his wife, Marlene Esther (Keith) Koutoufaris of Dover; three sons, Trian Koutoufaris of Rogers, Arkansas, Marc Koutoufaris and wife Dee (Loughran) Koutoufaris of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and Taki Koutoufaris of Dover; sisters, Niovi Zizis and her husband Hercules of Agios Kerikos, Ikaria, Greece and Argiro Mavrikis and her husband, Gus of Bayside, New York; a brother, Gus Koutoufaris formerly of Milford, Delaware; beloved grandchildren, John Zander of Dover, Zoe Olympia and John Basil of Florida; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be sadly missed by them, as well as by his constant companion, the 13-year-old family cat, Maggie.
The family should like to sincerely thank Compassionate Care Hospice and Griswold Home Care for their professional work and their above and beyond loving acts of caring for John and his family.
The COVID-19 virus made a large funeral impossible; the family regrets having to arrange a small, private family gathering which was held on Saturday, October 3, 2020 to honor an extraordinary man and a life so well lived. Burial followed at Lakeside Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made in John's memory to First State Animal Center and SPCA, 32 Shelter Circle, Camden, DE 19934.
Letters of condolence may be sent and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com