Pete Manos - Obituary

ete L. Manos of Annapolis, MD passed away peacefully Thursday, January 7, 2016, surrounded by his family and friends. He was born December 29, 1936, in Washington, DC to the late George and Ardy Manos. Pete was preceded in death by his loving wife of 55 years, Barbara whom he married in 1960 and who passed away only 11 weeks ago. He is survived by their two daughters, Helene Manos of Annapolis and Cindy Manos and her husband, Mark Colvin of Millersville, MD; his much loved grandson, Anthony; a sister, Mary Gitlin of Florida; brother, Christ Manos of Florida; nephew Jimmy Manos of Florida, and many nieces, nephews, and lifelong friends. Pete achieved great success in life without sacrificing his compassion for others. Upon graduation from high school in 1954, Pete joined the U.S. Navy and served at the Submarine Base - New London until he was honorably discharged to care for his family. He was awarded both a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Science Degree by Ben Franklin University. He joined Giant Food (now a Fortune 500 company) in 1960 at the age of 24 as an accounting clerk. Pete was appointed President of Giant Food in 1992 and CEO in 1995. He was a gruff, cigar-smoking leader adored by his employees who often gifted him with Teddy Bears making reference to his softer side. The Food World Newspaper created an award in his honor, the “Pete Manos Award,” given to the “Retail Executive of the Year.” Both within and outside of Giant Food, Pete Manos was highly respected for his many years of exceptional leadership and retail sales expertise. He retired in January 1999, with over 1,000 guests attending his retirement dinner. Pete was passionate about helping others and touched the lives of many different people. He served for many years as a board member for The Children’s Cancer Foundation, one of his favorite charities. Pete received numerous other leadership and humanitarian awards throughout the years from various organizations for his work in the community. He was honored with the prestigious “Second Genesis Man of the Year” award in April 1999. He also received the “Dickie Award,” named for former President Richard Nixon. This award is in honor of his warmth, charisma, compassion, and honesty. Pete loved attending the Washington Redskins football games, the Washington Capitals hockey games and the Baltimore Oriole baseball games. If you were ever fortunate enough to sit in on one of his “Liar’s Poker Games” with his buddies, you would easily recognize it was some of the best of times with Pete. Pete Manos wore many hats – husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, mentor, business and community leader - and he wore them all with dignity and love. He will be sorely missed by many. Friends may call on Thursday, January 14 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Rd., Edgewater, MD. A service will be held on Friday, January 15 at 10 a.m. at Ss. Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 2747 Riva Rd., Annapolis, MD. Interment to follow at Lakemont Memorial Gardens, Davidsonville. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Children's Cancer Foundation, Inc., 5570 Sterrett Place, Ste. 204, Columbia, MD 21044 (www.childrenscancerfoundation.org) or a charity of your choice. An online guest book is available by accessing the link at the top of this page.