Obituary of Sotirios G. "Steve" Yokas

Sotirios G. “Steve” Yokas, 67, of Peabody, passed away on Saturday, March 5, 2011, after a five year battle with cancer. Steve was the beloved husband of Jean (Kalivas) Yokas to whom he was married for 42 years. Steve was born in Koroni, Greece on August 25, 1943 and immigrated to the U.S. in August 1955 with his parents George and Martha (Zaharakis) Yokas and his 3 sisters, Anastasia, Maria and Fotini. Steve attended Peabody Public Schools and graduated from Peabody High School in 1963. He earned a BA in Economics from Merrimack College in 1967, a Master in Economics from UNH in 1971, and an MBA in Finance from Babson College in1980. He served proudly in the U.S. Army in 1969 being honorably discharged in 1971. Steve enjoyed a variety of rewarding jobs as State Bank Examiner, Research Associate at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and Loan Examiner for Bank of Boston. But the job he enjoyed the most was City Collector for the City of Peabody from June 2004 to December 2009. Steve was an avid hiker who hiked Mt. Washington 11 times and hiked Mt. Olympus in Greece in 2000 with his nephew Peter Manolakos. He enjoyed traveling the US and Europe for years with his wife Jean, friends and relatives. Besides his wife Jean of 42 years, Steve is survived by 2 sons, Michael Yokas and his partner Matthias Erbe, both professional musicians in Berlin, Germany, George Yokas, an Army Recruiter, his wife Leah and their son Luke; mother-in-law, Poppy Kalivas and brother-in-law, Stephen Kalivas of Peabody; 3 sisters and their husbands, Anastasia Scangas and Peter of Salem, Maria Colonis and Peter of Waterford, CT, and Fotini Manolakos of Salem; several nieces and nephews, their spouses and their children, Kathy and Perry Elliopoulos of Ipswich, William and Mary Colonis, George Colonis all of Waterford, CT, Peter and Ani Manolakos of Chelmsford, Larry and Kelly Scangas of Marlborough, George and Patricia Scangas of Georgetown, and many friends. His funeral will be held on Wednesday, March 9, 2011 at 9 a.m. from the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody followed by a service at 10 a.m. at St. Vasilios Greek Orthodox Church, 7 Paleologos St., Peabody. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Visiting hours are Tuesday March 8, 2011 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home. The family requested that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Steve’s memory to St. Vasilios Church Endowment Fund, 7 Paleologos St., Peabody, MA 01960 or to Hospice of the North Shore, 75 Sylvan St., Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923. Burial in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Peabody.