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Peter Kokalis Obituary
82, of Phoenix, Arizona passed away peacefully on January 11, 2017. He was born on June 20, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois to George and Evelyn (Houseas) Kokalis. He graduated from Northwestern University and later served his country as a member of the US Army. He worked in his father's grocery business, Sure Save Food Marts, overseeing the advertising for the firm and later worked in advertising for the Chicago Tribune. His father introduced him to the love of his life, Matina Karkazis and they enjoyed 56 years of marriage. In 1962, the family moved to Phoenix where he worked with his father in real estate development. Peter, along with his family, were active parishioners at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral, having previously served on the parish council and remaining an active member of AHEPA. Peter also found a calling as a photojournalist and worked as an editor for Soldier of Fortune and Firearms News, authoring hundreds of articles over the past 35 years. He took great pride in the fact that he was still actively working right up until his death. In his spare time, Peter was an avid reader and collector of military memorabilia. He loved his country and remained vigilant about his patriotism throughout his life. Peter frequently loved watching movies, and especially enjoyed doing so with his wife and grandchildren. He continued to be a loyal sports fan to his beloved Chicago athletic teams and was fortunate enough to see the Cubs win the World Series. He is survived by his beloved wife, Matina; his three children, George Kokalis, Eve (Robert) Danoff and Jason Kokalis; his grandchildren, Michael (Tiffany) Flores, Cody Kokalis, Max and Sam Danoff and Zoe Kokalis. In addition, he is survived by numerous nephews, nieces and cousins in the United States and Greece and many friends throughout the world. He will be greatly missed. Private services were held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral or to the charity of your choice.
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Memories and Condolences
for Peter Kokalis
Sherrill Watkins
March 10, 2025
Peter was an amazing person. I enjoyed his articles in the firearms literature. - Sherrill E. Watkins
Mark Brichacek
January 16, 2025
I never met Peter yet I will always remember that when I was a subscriber of SOF magazine he replied via US mail to a obscure question I had about comparing the factory sights on a Colt AR-15 A2 HBAR to the same sights on a Colt AR-15 A2 carbine, I own both rifles. I miss his expert firearm articles in Shotgun News-Firearm News that I still subscribe to.
Andrew White
January 16, 2025
Hello Matina and family
Another year gone by..so quickly. I hope you and your family are in good health. Peter remains in our thoughts and prayers It never gets any easier Matina I know. God bless you all.
The Brits
Andy John and Dave
Andy, John and Dave Lemming.
January 16, 2024
Hi George Martina and family. Our lives go on we do our best and handle upsets happy times tears and laughter. The old times were good but not the same today as good friends are not with us. Peter was a great friend serious but could be sincerely funny. Miss him.
God Bless you all.
Kevin Grevera
September 21, 2023
I did not meet Peter in person, I wish I did. We spoke over the phone and he idetified a holy grail luger for me. He was a very well respected customer of my firearms business. I immensely enjoyed and treasure the coversations we had. Rest in peace Soldier, see you on the other side of the mountain.
Andy White
January 16, 2023
Dear Matina and family, God bless you at this time.
Our love and thoughts are with you always.
Peter was such a good friend. Keep safe and well.
Andy, John and Daventry.
Andy,, John,,and Dave.
January 16, 2022
Our thoughts are with you and your family...
God Bless you All.
Andrew White
January 16, 2021
Dear Peter and Family
My oh my time goes by
And hope it makes us stronger
Time goes by
And yet it feels
so much longer
Since we saw you last
the freinds we love
And still remember.
God Bless you all
Andy, John and Dave.
Andrew White
January 18, 2020
God bless you Peter
Thinking of you Martina..and George..
Andy ...John...Dave
those Brits
TED BLACKWELL
January 17, 2020
Gone but not forgotten. A life well lived. He did things and went places many of us could only dream about, many times in the pursuit of freedom for others.
Jeff Peters
May 5, 2019
Found memories of meeting the man at the SOF conventions. A keen mind and wit. Loved reading every article he wrote. Saddened at hear of his passing.
Former Armor Corps
December 21, 2018
Peter Kokalis saved the life of some of my mates. Literally. Sadly, I never met him. Back in the mid 1980s I was serving in Lebanon. At the time, he wrote a SOF piece about Soviet-made grenades which had zero time delay (for the use in booby-traps, trip wires etc. where you do not want any delay but rather an immediate detonation). I read it. The length of delay in seconds, or zero in the case of no delay, was stamped at the bottom of the grenade detonator. A few weeks later some of my mates captured a terrorist carrying, among other things, a Soviet-made grenade. They planned to throw it a few days later as part of their training. I became suspicious, took the grenade apart, and... lo and behold... it was stamped zero... As soon as somebody pulled the pin there would have been a godawful explosion and my mates would be dead. Army intelligence issued an immediate bulletin about this to all units in the Theater of Operations.
Thank you Mr. Kokalis. RIP
From a former veteran who never forgot.
Andy White
March 21, 2018
I was saddened to hear Peter's passing. Dear Martina and family at this time you are in my thoughts. Time flys so quickly...we always had fun with Peter when we came to stay from the UK.
Always in our memory..God Bless you all.
Andy..John..Dave Leming
January 22, 2018
I am so sorry to hear of his passing. Just ran across one of his articles this am which prompted me to Google his name.I was an avid reader of his many articles, and took his word as the Gospel truth. His knowledge of the subject of firearms and ballistics was encyclopedic.We have truly lost one of the Giants in the field. I was honored to have met him in person at the Soldier of Fortune Convention in Charlotte NC 1984(?). My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Mark Holderbaum
June 23, 2017
I never met him; but I grew up reading his articles in SOF magazine and he will be missed by all in the small arms community. Our thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
Ronald Dunne
March 9, 2017
Just learned of his passing by way of the FAL Files message boards. Sad, yet I imagine he lead a full life, enjoyed reading his articles over the years. Condolences to family and friends, one more Othrodox Christian in Heaven! God bless..
Jeff Peters
March 6, 2017
His writing, sense of humor and light will be sorely missed. I had the please and honor of meeting him about 5 times. Each was an experience I will remember forever.
Mark Brichacek
March 1, 2017
I just learned of Peter's passing from my latest Firearms News.He was my favorite firearms technical information writer and will be missed by a lot of readers I'm sure. He took the time on September 7,1990, when he was technical editor of SOF magazine to answer technical questions I had about my 2 Colt AR-15 rifles in a letter I wrote him.I still have the 2 rifles and his reply letter that I didn't really expect from a well known and busy firearms expert.
Rob Rathburn
February 15, 2017
He will be missed I was fortunate to know him as a student of the pre 1900 and old rifle class at TR Texas. RIP amigo.
February 4, 2017
Pray for contact
El Salvador September 2006
Dave Hood
February 4, 2017
La Pantera Rosa
Dave Hood
February 4, 2017
Jim Pongrass
January 28, 2017
Peter was a dear friend and will surely be missed. We shared a passion for military weapons both in our collections and the enjoyment of shooting. We always had fun times at both the SOF convention in Las Vegas and at the Knob Creek MG Shoot in Louisville, Ky. He was a very knowledgeable guy in the field of military weapons....
Raul Mas
January 28, 2017
Peter was a wonderfully skilled firearms reviewer who set a new standard in how to evaluate them and place them in their proper historical context. He will be sorely missed, especially by those who grew up enjoying his wonderful articles. RIP.
Michael Sampson
January 27, 2017
We all miss you at the clinic,Im gonna make sure that all know like you said we are all family here at dialysis and we should acknowledge when our friends pass on. Im gonna miss you rip
Mike Klos
January 23, 2017
Rest in Peace my Friend. You will be missed.
Mike Scanlan
January 23, 2017
To the Kokalis family, please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of Mr K. I held him the highest esteem since I first started reading his reviews in SOF many years ago. Given his favorite topic could be rather dry and certainly technical, I found his articles absolutely fascinating. And the clarity of his writing made them a pleasure to read. I considered them a great example of fine writing. When the latest issue of SOF arrived, I went first to his contribution. I really learned a lot from Mr Kokalis and consider myself lucky to have been aware of his writings. I missed him when he left SOF. I knew he lived in Maricopa County so one day I searched for him through the web, and found an email address. I took a chance and sent him a note expressing my appreciation and suggested that he publish a collection of his articles. They could have been the foundation for a textbook or a just an entertaining and informal introduction to his area of expertise. I am sure it was not a result of my suggestion but I later obtained his book on machine guns. I'd still like to see his articles reprinted in book form for reference and just plain re-reading enjoyment. I hope Col Brown was able to attend his memorial. God speed, Mr Kokalis--you are a great American--and rest in peace, sir.
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