Michael Papadeas

Michael (Mike) Apostolos Papadeas, 87, of Westerville, Ohio passed away Monday, January 12, 2026 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Mike was born in Athens, Greece in 1938, to Apostolos and Eleni (Soumas) Papadeas. In 1954, Mike came to America at the age of 16 with only a duffel bag, cardboard suitcase and $24. He went on to graduate from Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering. He also served as a technical and business consultant for a number of years for clients in the Washington, D.C., area. In 1961, he noticed a beautiful young woman with a warm smile waving to him outside of a Winston-Salem bookmobile. Kyleen Turner Papadeas had mistaken him for someone else and serendipitously became his wife of 61 years after they wed on February 10, 1962. Shortly thereafter they moved to Andover, MA with their infant daughter, Ellen Papadeas, where they continued to expand their family while Mike worked as an engineer at Bell Labs. In 1968, they moved to Burlington, NC to raise their young family for the next 51 years, before moving to Westerville, in 2019, to be closer to their daughters Ellen and Sandra Gose (Papadeas). Mike spent the final years of his life enjoying his family's company, eating lots of Greek fare and chocolate cake and working tirelessly on his second book "Coming to America and Becoming Americans: A Family Memoir" published in 2024.
In Burlington, Mike worked on the design and development of government systems with several AT&T organizations and retired from Lucent Technologies as a proposal manager, after 35 years of service. He holds a U.S. patent related to the testing of telephone channel filters, and he is the author of several technical papers and a business program management guide.
Mike was also a passionate and gifted poet and author. His memoir and its sequel, entitled "Coming to America: A Memoir, 1938-1958" and "Coming to America and Becoming Americans: A Family Memoir", respectively, follow both his and his father's stories of surviving the Nazi occupation of Greece in World War II and the ensuing Greek civil war between communism and democracy. His poems have won several awards and have been published in local anthologies, including "Twin Towers," printed by The Burlington Times-News on September 11, 2011, in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. He also authored a volume of poetry, a biography and a history of the Mani region. In 2016, Mike donated over 100 Hellenic books to the University of Wilmington's Special Collections of Randall Library. He was a longtime member and president of the Burlington Lion's Club.
Mike was a family man who greatly valued the pursuit of higher education, ensuring his children and grandchildren had the opportunities to expand their knowledge and discover their potential. He was the true definition of "provider" to his family and took pride in their accomplishments. He leaves behind a legacy of intelligence, courage, and integrity. He is a shining example of what it means to take great pride in where you come from and not let the difficult circumstances of life hold you back, but rather propel you forward.
Mike is survived by his daughters Ellen Papadeas and Sandra (Tim) Gose; son Michael (Luisa) Papadeas; grandchildren, who referred to him as "Pappou", Kyle (Alexia) Gose, Caroline Gose, Zachary Papadeas, Lucas Papadeas and Joanna Papadeas and great granddaughter Naomi Kassiani Gose; brother Theodore (Poly) Papadeas, six nieces and nephews. Mike now rests peacefully beside his wife Kyleen Turner Papadeas, and joins in rest his parents Apostolos and Eleni (Soumas) Papadeas and his sister Kassiani Papadeas Glenn.
The family extends our heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers, staff and friends at Westerville Senior Living, who lovingly supported Mike in his later years. He will be missed dearly.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in Mike's name be made to: WARM (Westerville Area Resource Ministry), 150 Heatherdown Drive, Westerville, Ohio 43081.
A private service for the family will be held in Sunbury, Ohio on January 17, 2026.
The Snyder Funeral Homes, DeVore Chapel is honored to serve the Papadeas Family in their time of need.
Online condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.snyderfuneralhomes.com