Michael “Mike” KARVELAS

1926 - 2010  (84 years)

• Name	Michael “Mike” KARVELAS  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  Birth	26 Jun 1926	Paterson, New Jersey
  Gender	Male
  HIST	of Sumter, South Carolina Helen’s obituary says she has a niece, Betty Poulos of Sumter, South Carolina, and 2 nephews, Mike Karvelas and Jim Karvelas, both of Sumter, South Carolina- I am going to make them all brothers and sister- and making their mother a sister of Helen- am I guessing correctly? jkh Obituaries: Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 Print Posted: Friday, September 3, 2010 6:00 am | Updated: 12:05 am, Fri Sep 3, 2010. MICHAEL KARVELAS Michael "Mike" Karvelas, age 84, died on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, at Tuomey Regional Medical Center. He was a son of the late John and Aphrodite Carcania Karvelas, each of whom came from Greece. They met and married in New Jersey, where Michael was born on June 26, 1926, in Paterson. He attended the public schools of Jersey City, N.J., and was valedictorian of Ferris High School in January of 1943. He attended St. John's University in Brooklyn, N.Y., transferring to the University of South Carolina in Columbia when his family moved to Sumter for business reasons in June of 1944. He graduated magna cum laude from USC in May of 1947 with a degree in business administration. He minored in journalism and wrote for the school newspaper, The Gamecock, and the yearbook, "Garnet and Black." His first job in Sumter was as a reporter for The Sumter Daily Item from 1947-1950, when the newspaper was located in the rear of Osteen Publishing Co. on West Liberty Street. His column, "For the Luvva Mike," was written five days a week. He later wrote commercials and a daily local newscast for WFIG ("World Famous Iris Gardens"), Sumter's first radio station. His duties as Sumter correspondent for The State newspaper, Columbia, led to the establishment of the Sumter News Service, a freelance agency. When a weekly newspaper, The Sumter News, was founded in 1967, he joined the staff as news editor. He was a contributing reviewer of plays and films for The Item, even when he was office manager (later executive secretary) of the Sumter County Unit, American Cancer Society. In 1955, he was chosen Sumter's "Young Man of the Year" for his civic accomplishments. In 1983, he was presented the mayor's special commendation "For outstanding citizenship in devoting his time and energy for the betterment of our community." The Sumter County Legislative Delegation passed a resolution at session of the House of Representatives in Columbia expressing appreciation "... for his contributions to Sumter County spanning over a 46-year period." Specifically noted was his work as founder and coordinator of the Inter-Agency Council of Sumter, which allowed the agencies of Sumter to meet, grow and better serve the people of Sumter for 12 years. He was a charter and life member of the Sumter Optimist Club (1948). He was a member (and in many cases an officer) of the following organizations: Community Chest (United Way), American Red Cross, Tuberculosis (Lung) Association, Elks Lodge No. 855, Elks Fraternal Center for Servicemen, Easter Seals (Crippled Children & Adults), Little Theatre, Community Concerts, Fine Arts Council, Salvation Army Advisory Board, Jaycees, USO Operating Committee, Friends of the Library, Sumter County Historical Society, Sumter County Historical Commission, Travelers Protective Association, Shepherd's Center, Christian Business Men's Committee, and the Carolina Alumni Association. He was a member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of Columbia. Surviving are a brother, James Karvelas of Sumter; nieces, Alexandra Huggins of Carey, N.C., Aphrodite Konduros of Greenville and Eve Stegner of Sumter; and nephews, John Karvelas of Spartanburg and Michael Poulos of Asheville, N.C. A funeral service will be held at 4 p.m. today at the Bullock Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Father Michael Platanis officiating. Burial will follow in Sumter Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Sonny Hurst, Sam Konduros, Dan Lyles, Hubert Osteen, Jeremy Pitts, John Psomas, Bobby Richardson and Robert Stewart. Memorials may be made to The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 1931 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29201 or to the American Cancer Society, 128 Stonemark Lane, Columbia, SC 29210. You may sign the family's guest book at www.bullockfunrealhome.com. The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home of Sumter for the arrangements. Michael 'Mike' Karvelas, 1926-2010 By IVY MOORE ivym@theitem.com Sumter lost its foremost authority on films and Broadway and a good and thoughtful friend with the death of Michael "Mike" Karvelas on Wednesday night. Born in 1926 to Greek immigrants, he grew up in New Jersey, but moved to Sumter with his family in 1944. As it turned out, Sumter and Karvelas were a good match. Hubert Osteen, editor and chairman of The Item and Osteen Publishing Co., said, "(Mike) may not have been born in Sumter but he adopted Sumter early in his life and Sumter adopted him. He was an extraordinary man who contributed immeasurably to making Sumter better. First of all, he was a kind and generous person who loved this community as much or more than anyone born here. His many acts of thoughtfulness will always be remembered by those who were fortunate enough to be among his friends, and there were thousands of us. He sent me birthday cards every year without fail plus cards for other special occasions, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. That's just the way he was. He didn't do so seeking credit or recognition but out of the goodness of his heart. He first worked for The Item when he was fresh out of college, and then he began sharing his considerable talents in a multitude of community endeavors too numerous to list and fully appreciate. He was truly a Sumter treasure whose passing will be mourned by all of us who admired and loved him." At The Item, Karvelas worked as a correspondent and critic, reviewing plays, movies and concerts. He retired from writing in 1997, but continued to touch lives in many ways. Eric Bultman, executive director of the Sumter Little Theatre recalled, "The first play I did when I moved back to Sumter was 'Fences.' That was 20 years ago. Mike Karvelas reviewed it and he praised my work. I had never had a review like that in my life. It made me feel like an actor. It was an amazing gift and I will always be grateful to him for it." David R. Brown met Karvelas in 1976, when the two worked downtown. "We went to lunch together every Friday and became good friends," Brown said."He was a wonderful man, very knowledgeable, especially about old Sumter, films and plays. One of the most interesting things he told me was that, although he spoke English, he thought in Greek and made the translation as he spoke. That's just another indication of how intelligent and keen he was." Karvelas was a trusted confidante, as well, Brown said. "I could talk to him openly without any hesitation, and when I was feeling down, he'd always say the right thing to pick me up. He would always tell me what I needed to hear. I'll miss him greatly." Both Brown and Dan Lyles described Karvelas as "very smart and sweet spirited." Lyles met him through their membership in the Sumter Jaycees in the mid-1950s and remembered Karvelas for his work with civic and charitable organizations, and especially for remembering his birthday every year. "I always got a card from Mike each year," Lyles said. By 1989, when he retired as executive director of the Sumter Cancer Society, Karvelas was mailing around 1,800 birthday and anniversary cards to friends each year. "He was a wonderful person and a great friend," Lyles said. "Sumter will really miss him." Karvelas' nephew, Michael Poulos, said his uncle's practice of keeping up with birth dates and anniversaries for dozens and dozens of people "... was his ministry of presence, his way of letting others know that he cared. And in this way he demonstrated to us all the love of God for all people." Poulos, now a Presbyterian minister, said his uncle "... was a role model in many ways. His life taught me that true happiness comes not in the accumulation of wealth but in service to others. He preached not so much with his words but with his life." Poulos' sister, Eve Stegner, added her Uncle Mike was "the most thoughtful person that ever lived ... I always got a kick when so many people would come up to me and refer to him as their Uncle Mike." Aphrodite Karvelas Konduros, Karvelas' niece, said she'll miss her uncle for many reasons. "Maybe because he didn't have any, he never treated us as children," she recalled. "He would ask our opinions" and honor them. "He'd say, 'I see your point. I see your point,' (taking us) very seriously. We always thought Mike was our contemporary. ... He treated me the same at 5 as he did at 50." Konduros shared her uncle's love for film and theater. A tradition she'll miss, she said, is watching the Academy Awards and Tony Awards together at the home of her father, Jim Karvelas. "The day the nominations came out, Mike would Xerox them and send them to me so we could plan ahead of time and pick who we thought would win," she said. "He knew everything about movies and plays. I'd call him at 2 o'clock in the morning with a question about an actor or a character in a film, and he'd give me the answer, tell me the year" and more. "He was my Internet before there was an Internet." Konduros often received notes and cards from her uncle, too. "Mike would send me (newspaper) clippings at least once a week on something he thought would be of interest to me," she recalled. "He always circled and corrected typos. (When he wrote for the paper), he was always very upset when his stories came out with typos. He was that precise." Konduros said Karvelas kept address books with his friends' addresses and phone numbers, one book for each letter of the alphabet. "He had that many friends," she said. When an airline lost his book with names starting with "A," he was very distressed, she said. "Every time I would travel, whether it was to Chicago or San Francisco, he'd always ask me to look in the phonebook for people so he could replace all the names. My friends looked, too." Over the years, she said, Karvelas made more and more friends, and while the airline may have lost his "A" book, "He never lost a friend, just added more." A funeral service for Mike Karvelas will be held today at 4 p.m. at the Bullock Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Father Michael Platanis officiating. Burial will follow in the Sumter Cemetery. Read the complete obituary on page A9. Posted in News, Local news on Friday, September 3, 2010  [1, 2, 3]
  _UID	A138E33EFDEE4B1D8733173EA094CDEA470E
  Death	1 Sep 2010	Tuomey Regional Medical Center, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina
  Burial	3 Sep 2010	Sumter Cemetery, 700 W. Oakland Avenue, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina   [2]
  	Bullock Funeral Home, Sumter, South Carolina
  Person ID	I188101	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	22 Mar 2012

  
  

  Father	John KARVELAS   d. Abt 1954
  Mother	Aphrodite Carcania/Karkania CARROS   d. Bef 1 Sep 2010
  Marriage	26 Jun 1926	Paterson, New Jersey   [2]
  _UID	E0F6EA0D0E5B461CAD954C350E355AF3EBF2
  _UID	E0F6EA0D0E5B461CAD954C350E355AF3EBF2
  Family ID	F127771	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S7530] Helen Tsulis. [S14868] Michael Karvelas. [S14869] Michael ‘Mike’ Karvelas * 1926-2010. [S17575] James Karvelas.