Herculis Maniatopoulos

Sorry I'm so late for the party - I was doing some cleaning up and ran across some old music notebooks from 55 years ago and decided to look up Herculis. I had the good fortune to have Herculis as my guitar teacher when I lived in Glyfada in 1969. Though I was more interested in playing Beatles songs than learning how to read music and technique, I have fond memories of the weekly visits from Herculis.

My thoughts and sympathies go out to the family. In 1975 when I was transferred back to Ottawa from Sudbury, with the RCMP, I somehow ended up becoming the church organist at St. Remi Parish in the west end. The priest was not totally enthused with my playing and had me sign up with Herculis to improve my music reading.
Herculis was easy to like and warm up to and we soon became good friends. But he became more than a friend and a music teacher, he became a mentor imparting good advice and philosophy and I felt I was in the presence of a great man. We probably spent more time in conversation and discussion than we did on my music and Herculis became one of only two or three older men in my life whom I looked up to and whom influenced my future.
Thank you Herculis, I am sorry I was not able to honour your passing at the chapel.

It is sad to have lost such a great man. He taught me piano at my home every Saturday morning with an esspresso and a story. I thought of him often and know he had a great life, he will be missed.