Peter James Roupas

Peter James (Jim) Roupas, 74, of Palos Park, Illinois, passed away September 2, surrounded by his wife and three sons following a courageous two-year battle with cancer. Beloved husband of Elaine, nee Sampalis; loving father of Nick, Lee (Christina), and Mike (fiancé, Jim); adored Papou of Hunter and James. Devoted son of the late Leo and the late Ann Roupas; dear brother of the late John (Kathy) Roupas, Maria Chronos, and Dianne (Paul) Pitsoulakis. Son-in-law of the late Nick (the late Beatrice) Sampalis; brother-in-law of Susan (the late George) Kamberos, Andrew (Fran) Sampalis, Tom (Cori) Sampalis, and Cindy (Mike) Chmura. Loving uncle to his nieces and nephews, and dear cousin to many, including John (Janet) Koliopoulos, who Jim considered like a brother.

Jim's entrepreneurial spirit led him to establish P. James Roupas and Associates where he provided accounting, tax, and bookkeeping services to clients who he considered like family over his 45-year career, and also founded PJR Investments Company where he developed and managed shopping centers for 40 years. Serving in the 101st Infantry of the Illinois National Guard, Jim was federalized for the Martin Luther King riots and the Illinois Democratic Convention in 1968. Throughout his life, Jim had an extreme devotion to his community and held a deep belief in helping others wherever he could. He served on many boards of directors, including Archer Bank, the Hellenic Foundation, Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, the Diocese of Chicago Junior Olympics, and Moraine Valley Community College Foundation. He served on the education taskforce under Governor James R. Thompson for the BUILD Illinois program, and also served on Governor Jim Edgar's transition team in 1991 following his successful coordination of fundraising and media efforts within the Greek community during Edgar's first campaign for governor.

In light of the pandemic, services will take place all in one day as a semi-private service. A public visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8th at Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 11025 S. Roberts Road, Palos Hills, Illinois 60465. Only 100 people with masks on will be allowed in the church at one time, in accordance with CDC guidelines in the state of Illinois and the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago. A private funeral service will be held immediately following at 1:00 p.m. and is regretfully reserved for family only. Jim will be laid to rest at Bethania Cemetery in Justice, Illinois. Orrico Kourelis Funeral Services is handling all arrangements. For more information, please contact 877.974.9201 or 815.462.0711 or orricofuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church or MD Anderson Cancer Center at gifts.mdanderson.org.