John Demos

John Demos, age 98, passed away peacefully on November 27, 2025. Born on March 15, 1927, in Chicago, Illinois, John lived a long and meaningful life rooted in love for his family and friends.
John is survived by his brother George (Charlotte) Demos, sons Dean (Beatrice) Demos, Peter (Mary) Demos, Mark (Laura) Demos, and James Demos; grandchildren Christina (Tony) DeLuca, Stephanie Demos, Melanie (Nyatt) Demos, Alexander Demos, Nicholas Demos, and great-grandchild, Santino DeLuca.
Son of Gust and Angeline Demos. He was preceded in death by his wife of 71 years, Eugenia Demos, and brother, Spiro Demos.
John/Dad/Papou had a sense of adventure and loved new experiences. It shaped his life and his family's life with an education career in the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) in Germany, Italy, and Japan. As a youth, he delivered newspapers office-to-office, jumped on streetcars to save money, attended a high school that was out of district by using his friend's home address, and went on a canoe trip in the Boundary Waters, Minnesota, that ended in "near-Deliverance" conditions. He and his Boy Scout troop mates (the "39ers") were lifelong friends who kept meeting as 39ers well into adulthood and were later featured in LIFE magazine as the longest meeting scout group in history.
At the end of WWII, John served in the US Army in Germany as a guard at Camp King, a US-run prisoner of war camp, and spent a fair amount of time touring Europe as a softball all-star for the Army team.
Using the GI Bill, he graduated from Northwestern University, where he was a backup kicker on the football team, thereby unable to travel with them to their Rose Bowl appearance in 1949. He was a role model to his family and was an inspiration to seek college degrees, and stressed the importance of education.
With John in the driver's seat, he and his family traveled extensively in Europe and the USA in their bubble-top VW van. He had a hippy streak, returning from USC in the summer of '68 after earning his PhD, wearing bell-bottoms, long hair, sideburns, and wide ties. A big change from the narrow-tied conservative 50's look he had departed with. He explored many big cities, small towns, and parks throughout his life. Upon returning full-time to the USA, John and Eugenia reconnected with old friends and family, and continued to travel to various parts of the country and world. Travelling by car to California in their late 80s as their last road trip.
He and Eugenia worked tirelessly, navigating various government entities, to help their son, Jim, with his special needs - ultimately, providing Jim with an independence that would otherwise not have been possible.
More recently, John spent time organizing the house and chauffeuring Eugenia to various store sales and appointments.
John was a constant coach, advisor, and supporter of his family and friends. He was part of the Greatest Generation, where his actions spoke louder than his words. May John's memory bring comfort to those who knew and loved him. He will be missed.
A private service was held at Elmwood Cemetery on December 1, 2025.
In lieu of flowers, PLEASE send donations to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of DuPage, 115 North County Farm Road, Wheaton, IL 60187, which are appreciated or VENMO: @naminorthernillinois
Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Naperville, was entrusted with arrangements.