Samuel George Maragos • 1938 - 2010

Samuel George Maragos, 72, whose parents immigrated to Minot from Greece in the early 1900s, died June 1, 2010, at a hospice care facility in Las Vegas, Nev., after suffering a stroke.

He was born May 8, 1938, in Minot, a son of George and Constance (Angelopoulos) Maragos, who were members of a large Greek community established in Minot around 1910. Raised in Minot, Sam graduated from Minot High School and studied for a time at Minot State University. Early on, as a boy along with his siblings, he worked in various family enterprises their father founded. In those endeavors, he developed a keen entrepreneurial spirit that was threaded through the family and led to his involvement in a variety of undertakings, among them his work and association with Morris Anderson in And-Mar Aviation in Minot, a company they founded in the early 1970s. Their activities included the leasing of  the first aircraft to the UND Aviation Department which later became the  John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, in its earliest years.  He later started the And-Mar Scholarship which is awarded every year to a deserving aviation student at UND. He later was awarded a plaque for appreciation for all that he did for the aviation department by Alpha Eta Rho, which is an international aviation fraternity. Some of their goals are to further the cause of aviation, to promote a close affiliation among students for the purpose of education and promote a close affiliation between members and those in the aviation profession.

He became a talented salesman, a role he parlayed into top salesmanship for the vending company known as Vendo. He won several international trips as awards from the company. He also worked as a salesman for MarSon, a Maragos family company, and later he started MarSon Vending and in the years prior to moving to Las Vegas, was employed at the Holiday Inn Riverside, a Minot hotel built by the family in 1983.

He married Irene “Rena” Houllis in July 1960 in Minot. They were the first couple of second generation Maragoses to be married in St. Peter’s Orthodox Church in Minot. They lived in Minot until establishing residence in Las Vegas. Sam founded a sign company there known as American Signs.

He served in the Army National Guard for six years, including the period from 1961 to 1962 when he was called to active duty during the Berlin crisis that resulted in the construction by the Communists of the infamous Berlin Wall. While on active duty, he was stationed at Fort Riley, Kan.

His family described Sam as unique—a reserved description by his siblings who, in jest, also referred to him as “that Sam.” Not for him the mundane approaches to daily living, they said. He never wanted to be trapped in other peoples’ rules. He had an easy going style and made deep and lasting friendships.

Surviving are his wife, Rena, 5525 Port Barrington, Las Vegas 89130; a daughter, Androniki “Nikki” (Mike) Moravec, Omaha, Neb.; sons, George,  Anthony and Samuel “Bj” (Ching Ching), Las Vegas; grandchildren, McKenzie, Abbie, Alexa and Samuel Jace Maragos and  Tyler and Baylie Moravec; sister, Vivian (Dudley) Zimmerman, and brothers, James, Alex (Gloria), Peter (Roxanne) and Andrew (Sherry) Maragos, all of Minot; sisters-in-law, Jeanne Maragos and Gloria Maragos, both of Minot, and Loretta Santana, Brea, Calif.; brother-in-law, Stan (Barbara) Houllis, Brea.  A number of nieces and nephews also survive.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers, Steve, Ted and Angelo.

Funeral: Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 10 a.m., St. Peter’s Orthodox Church.

Visitation: Tuesday from noon to 7 p.m., followed by a Trisagion Service, all at Thompson-Larson Funeral Home, Minot.

Burial: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.

Memorials are preferred to Nathan Adelson Hospice, 3391 Buffalo Road, Las Vegas, Nev. 89129 or to a hospice of the donor’s choice.
             

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