Paramus Rotary Club had a special Memorial Luncheon in Honor of Thomas Kourgelis, father of Jimmy Kourgelis, President of Seasons Catering. Rotarian friends and family gathered to celebrate his legacy. Tommy was the patriarch of the Kourgelis family and founder/owner of venues well known to District 7490 Rotarian, Seasons Catering, The Venetian, and Shadowbrook at Shrewsbury.
Paramus Rotary Club members, Kourgelis family members and friends on the front steps of Seasons Catering
Thomas “Tommy" Kourgelis, of Emerson, NJ, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at the age of 83. Born in Chios, Greece, Tommy immigrated to the United States of America in 1958 in pursuit of the American Dream. Having started as a dishwasher, his hard work and tenacity paid off. In 10 short years, Tommy’s dream was finally realized after marrying his wife, Carole, and together purchasing Cedar Lane Grill of Teaneck, NJ along with his brother, John and cousin, George. Through his tough work ethic and dedication to his career in the restaurant industry, he laid the foundation, alongside Carole, to create the longstanding legacy with his children that exists today.
February 6, 1938 - April 3, 2021
Tommy enjoyed traveling, spending time with family, and the (occasional) trip to the casino. A generous man, Tommy found joy in giving back to his hometown, Agios Georgios Sikousis of Chios, the Greek Church and offering a helping hand to anyone in need.
Tommy leaves behind his loving wife of over 60 years, Carole Kourgelis, his children, Maria Carfello (Carl), Jimmy (Caryl), George (Deborah), and 10 grandchildren: Carl, Calli, TJ, Cole, Alexis, Christina, Niko, Katarina, Christopher, and Thomas.
Friends from the Paramus Rotary Club, family and fans celebrated Tommy’s memory and shared stories of a hard-working father and a loving husband.
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In his memory members of the Paramus Rotary Club donated 3 benches that now placed on the grounds of Seasons Catering so staff and visitors can sit, relax, and enjoy the beautiful surrounding at Seasons. Tommy used to greet us upon arrival at Seasons from that very spot on many beautiful days. Most times he was there with family and friends as he welcomed us with a friendly smile.
Be strong, dear. This is a sad time in your life. May God give you comfort.
Thank you Kourgelis Family for all the love and support to the Paramus Rotary Club. We will cherish Tommy's memory forever!
The relationship between the Paramus Rotary Club and the Kourgelis family stared over 30 years ago, and Seasons Catering has been our Rotary Club’s “home base” ever since.
Don’t let go of your precious memories. They’ll get you through this difficult time.
“Death ends a life, not a relationship.” —Mitch Albom
We had Scholarship recipientsFrank Piserchia & Andrea Sullivan joined us!
* Frank just graduated from St. Joseph’s Regional HS. He will be attending Rutgers University School of Nursing. He is a recipient of the Emil Geering Scholarshi
* Andrea just graduated from Paramus High School and is the recipient of the Barry Fowler Scholarship. Andrea will be attending the University of Delaware College of Education.
Very grateful students who shared their future educational and career plans. It became obvious that our scholarship committee made excellent choices
* Camp Nejeda Walkthon: The mission of the Camp Nejeda Foundation is to enhance the lives of people with type 1 diabetes and their families through education, empowerment, camaraderie, supportive programs, and fun. They are having a Walkathon coming up on 9/26 that they need help with the walkathon.
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* Happy dollars: this week happy dollars will be going toward a homeless veteran.
* The Plastic Project: With the help of Seasons again, we REACHED OUR GOAL OF COLLECTING over 500 POUNDS!! let's do this all over again!!
* National Night Out: The 2021 National Night Out festivities will be held on Tuesday, August 3rd between 3:00p.m. and 5:00p.m.at the Paramus Public Library. We are going to have a booth - We need Volunteers and Rotary Magazines. This is a great way to promote our Club.
FINALLY!
Please join us on August 5th , 2021 – We will have Mike Madness as a guest speaker Mike De Lucia, grew up in the Throgs Neck/Pelham Bay section of the Bronx and has spent most of his life as an entrepreneur, actor, teacher, director, and writer. He is the author of the multi-award-winning historical fiction novel, Madness, The Man Who Changed Basketball.
