Charles Louis Bakes

Charles Louis Bakes
September 21, 1930 - May 25, 2023
Charles Louis Bakes, 92, of Greenwich, CT, entrepreneur, insurance executive, and Korean War veteran, passed away peacefully on May 25, 2023, surrounded by loving family.
Born on September 21, 1930, in New Rochelle, NY, he was the youngest of three siblings born to the late Louis and Harriett Bakes and raised in Stamford, CT. Known as Dean, he graduated from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. In 1952, he joined the Air Force and served as an intelligence officer during the Korean War. As a strategist he analyzed targets and briefed pilots on their missions.
After returning from the Air Force, Dean first saw the love of his life, Portia Koutsoumbas, as she was crossing a street and told his brother he was going to marry that girl. It was destiny that they were both going to the same party that day. They married in 1957 and enjoyed 46 years of marriage.
Charlie, as he was known in business, was a lifelong entrepreneur. He began his career as sales executive for the Hartford Life Insurance Company, establishing sales offices across the Northeast. In 1969, he co- founded Life Plans Unlimited, which grew into one of the largest independent insurance brokerage firms in the United States through groundbreaking innovation in the sale of insurance products. In 1986, he co-founded the Clinton Companies that specialized in real estate investment. In 1990, Charlie co-founded ITDS, a wireless telecommunications software company, anticipating the nascent cellular phone industry would explode. ITDS became a publicly traded company in 1997. Charlie received numerous awards and accolades for his accomplishments during his professional career. In the years since his retirement, Charlie retained his relentless passion for embracing new ideas and seeking new opportunities in an ever-changing world.
Dean was a benefactor of philanthropic, cultural, and religious organizations that focused on children's health, cultural and academic enrichment in the U.S. and Greece, and the Greek Orthodox Church. Dean was an Archon of the Greek Orthodox Church, a member of Leadership 100 of the Greek orthodox archdiocese in America, and a long-standing member of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Archangels in Stamford, CT. In 2018, he was awarded The Center for Hellenic Studies Paideia Award for his contributions to preservation and cultivation of Hellenic Letters and Culture.
Dean enjoyed travel, music, opera and art and cherished wonderful friends. He loved a good joke. He appreciated substance over bluster, loved deeply but quietly. His values were rooted in hard work, drive, perseverance, loyalty, and conviction. He was most proud of his family, especially his grandchildren, their spouses, and adored great-grandsons.
Dean is survived by sons Lewis D. Bakes (Sandra) of New Canaan, CT, and George D. Bakes (Victoria) of Norwalk CT, and former daughter-in-law Jean M. Bakes; cherished grandchildren Charles Dean Bakes (Jacqueline), Samantha Bakes Sanders (Scott N. Sanders), Christopher D. Bakes, Alexander L. Bakes, and Georgia M. Bakes; great-grandchildren Nathaniel Dean Sanders and Jasper Sanders. He is also survived by many dear cousins, nieces, nephews, wonderful friends and loyal companions.
He is preceded in death by his wife of 46 years, Portia K. Bakes, his brother George L. Bakes and his sister Joanne Panoulos.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.