John Gionis

Of Tonawanda, NY entered into rest December 30, 2025. Beloved husband of the late Eftichia "Joy" (nee Grammatikakis) Gionis; devoted father of George (Kimberly), and Dean (Lisa) Gionis; cherished Pappou of Zoe (Christian), Jon, Dean, Liam, and Maria; loving brother of Ilias (Maria) Gionis, Katerina (Kosmas) Danakas and the late Dimitrios (Yanoula) Gionis, Spiros (Despina) Gionis, Vassilios (Vagelitza) Gionis, Panayota (Taki) Diamandakias, Tasos Gionis, Nikolaos (Katerina) Gionis, and Potis "Peter" (Argiri) Gionis; also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Relatives and friends may visit the Lombardo Funeral Home (Northtowns Chapel) 885 Niagara Falls Blvd. near Eggert/Sheridan Dr. on Tuesday, January 6th from 3-7 o'clock. A Funeral Service will take place at Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, 146 W Utica St. Buffalo, NY 14222 at 11 o'clock. Interment Elmlawn Cemetery. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

John (Yianni) was born in Sykea, Laconia, Greece, and served as a communications officer in the Greek Army after World War II. Driven by an adventurous spirit and a desire to build a better life for his family, he immigrated to Montreal, Canada in the late 1950s, married the love of his life, Eftihia (Eftichia), and later lived in Providence, Rhode Island, Toronto, and finally Buffalo, New York. A tireless worker, he sometimes held as many as three jobs and spent the next 30 years working as a bartender at the Statler Hilton Hotel, Sheraton Hotel, and The Brookfield Country Club. After a health scare in 1979 he quit smoking on his doctor's advice and walked for miles nearly every day until age 94. A lifelong student and expert historian of ancient empires, world history, and geopolitics, he kept a beautiful garden in retirement, learned to use a computer to stay in touch with family on Facebook and to watch Greek news and videos on YouTube, and enjoyed time with friends at church. Most of all, he took immense joy and pride in spending time with his sons, daughters in law, and his five grandchildren, and he selflessly cared for Eftihia in her later years-truly a role model.