George “Bear” Eoannou

Funeral service for George “Bear” Eoannou, 57, Lawrence will be held 1 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2015 at Warren-McElwain Mortuary. Burial to follow at Oak Hill Cemetery. Bear passed away Saturday, April 11, 2015 in Lawrence, KS.

He was born on September 22, 1957 in Portland, Oregon the son of Alex Demetrius Eoannou and Lillian Marie (Harris).

Bear dedicated his life to working for Packerware “Berry” Plastics. Loyal to Packers, Bear continued his work there for 37 years until his death, moving from operator to molder and onto various management positions. In addition to his work, Bear pursued many passions. He spent many years jamming with his guitar and singing country and blues songs with his friends. Throughout his life he was passionate about the Kansas Jayhawks and would often travel to watch the basketball teams compete. In recent year, his new passion was traveling to the Caribbean. He lived his weekends and holidays by “island time,” sipping Dirty Banana’s with a loaded Crown straw in the sun. Above all, he loved his family and fishing, and dedicated almost all of his spare time to those passions.

He married his loving wife of 30 years, Debra Kay New of Meriden on May 26, 1984 in Lawrence, Kansas. She survives of the home. Other survivors include son, Ryan George and fiancé, Kelsey Schiller, Lawrence; daughter, Christina Marie Russell and husband, Bradley, Lawrence; Sister Joyce Eoannou, Lawrence; 6 step-sisters and 4 step-brothers.

The family will greet friends from 6:00 – 8:00 pm Tuesday, April 14, 2015 at the mortuary.

In Lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in his name to Success by Six or the Endowment Association for Lawrence Memorial Hospital- Cardiac Wing and may be sent in care of the mortuary.