Joannis "John" Kyriacou, 92, made sure to take a stroll in his beloved garden to check the tomatoes before passing away peacefully in his home on Wednesday, October 17, 2018. One of the patriarchs of the Greek-Cypriot community in Annapolis, John was born in Yialousa, Cyprus in 1926. As a young teenager, he often walked a donkey five miles to work his family's tobacco and wheat fields, with a bag of onions, garlic, and bread for his lunch. In 1952, he embarked on his own American dream, when his 8-months-pregnant wife and one-year-old son endured a two week voyage on the Italian ship "Saturnia." For 40 years, John owned and operated Royal Valet, a shoe repair shop on West St. in Annapolis. John was an amazing cook, always sending his children and grandchildren home with his lovingly homemade Greek meals, barbecuing on the backyard grill, steaming blue crabs in the basement kitchen, or frying fish he caught himself. John loved when family and friends gathered around the kitchen table, his Greek church, happy hour, Gregorian liturgical chant, building and selling birdhouses from a table in his backyard, vacationing all over the world, the beach at his Ocean City condo, which reminded him of the old country, fighting with DNS at the beach when they not only had the the nerve to FINE him for his undersized fish, but then consfiscated the fish, and tormenting his grandkids with the ever-fearsome "Cypriot Toe-Lock." He is survived by his wife of almost 70 years, Maria Kyriacou; his daughter, Melanie (Mike) Pantazes; his sons, Jack (Marianne), Nick (Maria) and Zack Kyriacou; his brother-in-law, Panayotis Papaleonti, ten grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and friends. Friends may call at the Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD on Thursday, October 18 from 4 to 8 PM. Funeral service will be held at Ss. Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Rd., Annapolis MD on Friday, October 19 at 10 AM. Interment will follow at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Cemetery in Annapolis. In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory may be made to the Pulmonary Gift Fund, Johns Hopkins Dept. of Medicine Development Office, MFL Center Tower, Ste. 355, 5200 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, MD 21224 or online at: https://secure.jhuedu/form/pccm. Condolences may be made by clicking the link on this page.