Robert Coustenis

Our father, Bob, was born in 1924 to Steve and Sophia Coustenis who lived in Salamanca, a small city with a population just over 9,000 in 1920, set on the Allegany Indian Reservation in upstate New York. His father, native to Larissa, Greece, owned and operated a small grocery store and the City Lunch tavern. Dad’s father, our grandfather, Steve, met his future father-in-law by chance. George Polatakis was robbed while traveling by train and at the next station stop, Salamanca, he was looking for help. The problem was that he didn’t speak English but, fortunately for him, he did speak Greek. Steve Coustenis was found and rescued George by acting as an interpreter. A bond was forged, and soon George, his wife Fanni, daughter Aliki, and step-daughter Sophia Marini put down roots in Salamanca.

Steve courted and married the exotic Sophia—raised in Cairo, she was highly educated and fluent in five languages. As a mother, Sophia kept a tight leash on her three sons, Pete, Bob and Teddy. She insisted on music lessons and academic achievement. Sadly she passed away at a young age when our dad was only 13. On her passing, the rules changed and Dad found plenty of time to get up to mischief. One such episode had him engaged in a feather-pillow frenzy on the roof of his home. The yard, trees and shrubbery surrounding the house were left coated in white down. Coming home, his father knew just where to find the culprit. Dad spent the next day gathering each and every feather.

Dad was very close to his cousins, George and Sotiere, the children of Aliki (Thea Bella), his mother’s stepsister. He often travelled to Williamsport, PA, where they lived, and thought of them both as brothers. Always ready with a joke or prank, his visits were highly anticipated—laughter was in large supply when Dad was around.

Dad’s youthful enthusiasms included daredevil antics on motorcycles and in cars. He was read last rites after a near death car collision when he was a teenager. The reason for the crash? He was in a competition with himself to shorten the drive time between work and home. In May of 1943 he enlisted in the army and was sent to Panama where he served for almost three years. After coming home he enrolled in engineering studies at the University of Buffalo. Too restless for the classroom, he began a series of short-term jobs from working as a telegrapher for the railroad to driving a tractor trailer for a furniture manufacturer. That all ended when his brother Pete encouraged him to move to Wilmington, Delaware to work for him in his countertop manufacturing business.

A few years after moving to Wilmington Dad was introduced to his future wife, Katherine, who was a Greek teacher at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. They were married in 1956. By 1960 our family had grown to include three daughters and a son, Stephanie, Carol, Alexia and Bobby. Between four young children and the many visiting relatives and friends, our house was party central on the weekends and holidays with plenty of food, loud talk, and love.

Dad began working for himself in 1957 and grew his cabinet manufacturing business from a small two-man shop to, eventually, a large operation, Architectural Cabinets, Inc. that was housed in an industrial park. He was always concerned for the welfare of those who worked for him and improved his Greek speaking skills with the many immigrants from Greece he hired.

On vacation with our mom, Katherine, visiting the Prado in Spain he nabbed a thief. As they relaxed in front of the museum Dad noticed an unattended purse on the bench behind him. A museum guard also noticed that purse. The guard snatched the wallet and quickly took off with it. Dad ran after him catching hold of his arm as he went into the men’s bathroom. The guard slammed the door on Dad’s arm, but Dad wouldn’t let go and explained that he only wanted the wallet back, that he wouldn’t report him to the infamous Franco-regime police. Having retrieved the wallet and returned it, my parents were delighted to learn that it belonged to a visiting student of Greek descent.

In 1967 our brother Bobby contracted Leukemia and was gone after a two year fight with the disease. My dad was devastated, as was all of our family.

Dad was a caring father who would always look for a solution or a way to help when one of his daughters was in need. His unorthodox driving skills were passed on through lessons as each of us turned 16. He delighted in teasing us, when he found Alexia’s fake ID on the sidewalk one morning he never said a word, but began calling Alexia by a different name. Baffled, we eventually found out that he was using the name from the photo id that he had found.

Dad immersed himself in whatever he did, whether work or play. As busy as he was with his business he always found time for his tennis pals, his card-playing buddies, and crab nights. And, he always found time to solve a problem for a friend, whether installing an appliance, troubleshooting a plumbing or electrical issue, or fixing a car. He loved his toys, too, from cars to a motorboat to flying lessons and piloting a plane. Maps and directions were an obsession for him. The first words out of his mouth when anyone from out of town arrived at his home was to ask them which routes they had taken and then to let them know that they hadn’t travelled the most efficient way. He mastered the art of baking bread, a perfect duck l’orange, brewing beer, and was especially proud of the large tomatoes and watermelons grown in his garden. They were, of course, record-holders in Dad’s opinion.

In 1991 Dad decided to put on a new hat as a general contractor and began work on constructing a home in Kennett Square near Longwood Gardens. The project took several years to complete and he was involved in every step of the process, whether doing the work himself or supervising sub-contractors.

In Dad’s later years backgammon and Soduko became two of his passions. And, on the rare occasion he couldn’t solve the Soduko puzzle, he would let all observers know that this was because the puzzle author had made a mistake. Never one to sit still, he began working for Home Depot as a kitchen consultant at the age of 67 and continued for another 15 years, retiring at the age of 82. The oldest-ever employee at that particular Home Depot location.