A SINGULAR STORY OF THE BLIZZARD OF ’78 AND A FATHER’S PROMISE…
A LOWELL STORY
William Steve Panagiotakos
Loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend; 88
William Steve Panagiotakos, 88, died peacefully on February 15, 2022, at home with his family by his side.
William was born in Lowell on August 24, 1933, a son of the late Stavros and Archondoula (Anagnostakos) Panagiotakos. Billy lived his first years in a tenement on Adams Street and attended Lowell public schools. His family moved when he was about 8 years old, to Pleasant Street in Dracut’s Navy Yard, where he attended Dracut public schools, graduating from Dracut High School class of 1951.
After graduation he enlisted in the Unites States Navy and was assigned to the USS Strong where he sailed the world and saw combat during the Korean War. He would suffer a disability from his service that grew worse through the years. He was always proud of his service and the men that he served with. The Navy – Army game was always a special day.
On his return to civilian life, he attended East Coast Aerotech and upon successful completion was hired by Trans World Airlines (TWA) as an airline mechanic. He worked for TWA for the next 43 years at Idlewild Airport (now Kennedy International Airport), National Airport (now Reagan International Airport), and Logan International Airport. He also spent 5 years during that time working in Saudi Arabia under a TWA contract with Saudia Airlines, so that he could better provide for his family, especially for their education costs.
His life was made up of those everydays, holidays and special days that make up the hyphen between 1933 and 2022 unique to each of us.
The following is one of those days that captures the person and father that he was.
In 1978, he was named TWA employee of the year and was to be feted in Paris, France. He promised his daughter, Sophia, that she was going to see Paris. However, as all good Greek stories go, nothing comes easy. They were scheduled to leave on February 6th. However, heavy snow was accumulating rapidly that morning and winds up to 80 mph were blowing it everywhere. With his daughter as his co-pilot, he started out in his little Volkswagen from their home on Gibson Street in Lowell.
Down the Connector onto I-495, the snow was blinding. As they slowly approached the 93S exit to Boston, a state police officer told them that he was only allowing trucks any further, and that was going to stop soon.
However, Billy persuasively explained his situation.
The trooper told him to leave the VW on the side of the road. He flagged down the next truck and it was headed down to the Boston area. The driver agreed to get them as far as he could, which would be down to Chelsea. As they made their way, cars were becoming stranded in the middle of I-93.
Once in Chelsea, Billy used a pay phone to call his TWA crew. They said that all flights had been canceled. However, they were going to commandeer a ramp service vehicle to pick them up. They also checked with South Station, where the last train being allowed to leave for New York was pushing off in about an hour and a half.
With the plow trucks not able to keep up, the snow kept burying the streets. It took the TWA crew about 45 minutes to get to them. Then a perilous trudge through East Boston, the tunnel and down the unplowed streets of Boston, got them there just in time to purchase their tickets and hear the conductor calling “All aboard!” as they hurried to the platform. They left their luggage behind so as to get to the train in time. It would be sent over once flights opened up again.
In New York, the large group of over 100 TWA officials and employees from all over the country had already assembled at Kennedy International Airport. They had been being kept abreast of the situation that was playing out in Massachusetts with the last two members of their party.
Those assembled eagerly awaited any updates and were pulling for “the Snowbirds from Lowell”. As they waited, a spirit of camaraderie started to grow among the group that blossomed into a commitment not to leave without “the Snowbirds”.
The Boston TWA called to let them know that their honoree and his daughter were finally train bound to Penn Station, and barring being stopped by the snow drifts along the way, should be there in 5-6 more hours. Even with the realization of the long delay, the group was exuberant with the news.
The train did encounter some slowdowns along the way from the heavy snow on the tracks but kept moving. It finally powered into New York in descent time. As they disembarked, they were met by a New York TWA crew, who shuttled them to Kennedy International Airport, down the tarmac to the TWA maintenance area.
They were then led up to the gate area and through the door of the famous TWA Ambassador Club. When the door flung open and they appeared, the waiting crowd broke into spontaneous cheers. They were given a glass of champagne, which had been flowing freely over the long wait, and a toast was made to “the unstoppable Snowbirds from Lowell”.
It was then wheels up, destination Paris, France.
You might ask why would he try…why would he not give up?
The answer is…it wasn’t for the award, because honors were never important to him.
It was because he promised his daughter that she was going to see Paris.
He and his wife, Edna Barrett Panagiotakos, raised their family on Gibson Street in the Highlands, which is still the family homestead.
He was an avid deep sea fisherman and a very accurate thoroughbred handicapper. He enjoyed playing cards at the Lowell Elks or cribbage at Strogoff’s in Dracut. He was the creator of Chilly Willie’s Christmas Lottery and made his annual Travers Stakes trip to Saratoga to celebrate his birthday.
He was a member of the William Sewall Gardner-Kilwinning Masonic Lodge for over 50 years and the Scottish Rite. He also was a member of the Greek American Legion and the International Association of Machinists.
He is survived by his wife, Edna Barrett Panagiotakos, and their four children, Steven C. Panagiotakos and his wife Christine (Hondras) of Lowell, Sophia D. Arguoyan and her husband John of Lowell, Athena E. Panagiotakos and her husband Christos Panagiotopoulos, and Christopher P. Panagiotakos and his fiancée Kelly Enwright.of Lowell; his grandchildren, Jonathan Arguoyan and his wife Preethi, Christopher Arguoyan, Giana Panagiotakos, Alexandria Panagiotakos, Christopher Panagiotopoulos and his wife Judith, Stephen Panagiotopoulos, Christian Enwright and his wife Kaylee; and great-grandchildren, Georgia, Sophia and Emilia Panagiotopoulos, and Violet Enwright; many nieces and nephews; and his canine companion, Sammy.
He is also survived by his cousins, Peter Poulos of Manchester, NH, Charles “Bucky” Panagiotakos and his wife Marie of Tyngsboro, Diane Pihl of Lowell; brothers-in-law, Charles Vergos of Las Vegas, NV, and Victor Barrett, Sr. of Oklahoma; and sisters-in-law, Janet Panagiotakos of Salisbury, and Frances Barrett of Virginia.
He was predeceased by his siblings, Helen and Charles “Dino” Platanites, Stamatina and Christos Rouses, Kaliope “Carol” and George Sakelakos, Evangelia “Eve” Vergos, Peter Panagiotakos, Mary and George Rodgers, Gregory Panagiotakos, and Cleopatra Panagiotakos, as well as mother and father-in-law, Pauline and Stewart Barrett, brother-in-law, Charles Barrett and sister-in-law, Phyllis Fellers.
This remembrance could not be complete without a special appreciation to the doctors, nurses and staff at the Veteran’s Affairs medical facilities and most notably, the Veteran’s Affairs Homebased Primary Care Team, Bedford, MA, Nashoba Home Care and his primary caregiver over the past several years, Diane, whose compassion and commitment helped keep his days happy, comfortable and dignified.
Family and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Friday, February 18th from 4pm to 7pm at the Blake Chelmsford Funeral Home, 24 Worthen St., Chelmsford. His Funeral Service will be held on Saturday morning at 11 o’clock at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 62 Lewis Street, Lowell. KINDLY MEET AT THE CHURCH. Interment will follow in Westlawn Cemetery, LOWELL. In lieu of flowers, donations IN MEMORY OF William Panagiotakos can be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for veterans and first responders at
t2t.org.