Gus Mustakas

PEORIA - Gus C. Mustakas, 87, of Peoria died Tuesday morning, Feb. 13, 2007, surrounded by loving family at his home.

He was born July 29, 1919, in Gary, Ind., the son of Carl and Despina Mustakas.

He married Calliope M. Dikos on June 29, 1952, in Peoria, Ill. They have one daughter, Stephanie (Mustakas) Kareotes of Morton, Ill.

Gus was preceded in death by his parents and son, Michael Mustakas.

Gus was an accomplished violinist, which he played for the Peoria Symphony Orchestra in the early 1950s.

He received degrees from the following colleges: University of West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va., Gary College in Gary, Ind., and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Ill., where he received his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity at Illinois Institute of Technology.

For more than 39 years, Gus conducted research in chemical engineering at the Northern Regional Research Lab in Peoria. Both his extrusion (urban) process and his village process have been utilized in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Through sponsorship of such organizations as AID, UNICEF, FAS and the American Soybean Association, he had visited 17 foreign countries in an effort to improve and transfer soybean food technology overseas.

Gus received a department outstanding performance rating in February 1965. In May 1966, he received a USDA Superior Service Award as a member of the crambe research team for interdisciplinary research that resulted in the introduction and industrial utilization of crambe as an oilseed crop new to American agriculture.

Many of his research findings have been applied to a number of key soybean food products in a field which was expanding rapidly.

His work was described in approximately 90 publications and 13 issued U.S. patents.

Gus was a member of the following professional societies: American Association of Cereal Chemists, American Oil Chemists Society and Institute of Food Technologists.

Gus was a lifelong member of All Saints Greek Orthodox Church.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in Peoria, Ill. Father John Sardis will be officiating. Burial will be in Parkview Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday at Cumerford-Endsley-Diggle Funeral Home, 428 W. McClure Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m. Trisayion service will be at 6:30 p.m.

Memorials may be given to All Saints Greek Orthodox Church Building Fund of Peoria, Ill.