Mitchell Minas Stavrakis

Mitchell Minas Stavrakis………A Proud Family Man. The Stavrakis family is saddened to announce the passing of our father, Mitchell Minas Stavrakis who passed away on January 16th, 2022 in the presence of his four children.The family is comforted knowing that he made his peace with the Lord and will take his place alongside other loved ones in Heaven.Mitchell went out on his own terms, after a hard fight it was time to rest.He was under the care of WVU Medical Camden Clark staff here in Parkersburg, W V, who he wished to thank for their care and compassion. Born on March 12, 1935, our father was 86 years of age when he passed away.His father was Minas Michael Stavrakis, formerly of Karpathos, Greece and Addie Mae Miller Stavrakis of Eunice, WV.He was the eldest of four children, which included his brothers Basil Stavrakis, Nickolas Stavrakis and sister Gayle Patton.He also had a step brother that he dearly loved, Charles Hawkins, step sisters Ella Harless and Enola Harless.Preceding him in death are his father Minas, mother Addie, brother’s Charles and Nicholas, sisters Ella, Enola and Gayle, along with his wife, Joyce Ann Stavrakis. Surviving Mitchell are his four children, daughter Debbie (Jack) Moore, of Vienna, WV; granddaughters Jamie Scott and Abby Moore; grandson Mitchell (Kelly) Scott and great grandsons Jadon Scott, Lincoln Moore and Waylon McHenry.Daughter Becky (Elmer) Postalwait of Scott Depot, WV, step grandsons Nathan and Josh Postalwait.Son, James (Melissa) Stavrakis of Vienna, WV; granddaughter Aelissa Stavrakis and grandson Athan Stavrakis.Son, John (Cherish) Stavrakis of Vienna, WV; grandsons Aaron Stavrakis, Corey Stavrakis and Evan Stavrakis; granddaughter Saylor Stavrakis.Also his longtime companion, Priscilla Woods.He had many animals over his life, but his little Yorkie Rusty was with him at the end. He was married on May 24th, 1952 to Joyce Ann Milam.They experienced the hardships of life and the blessings of family together for 59 years before her passing from cancer.The importance of family was present from the beginning, as he doted on his daughters and taught his sons to be respectful and resourceful.Education was a favorite topic of his, as he stressed its importance.Good grades were expected by all his children and grandchildren.We all knew from an elementary school age that we were going to college to earn a degree.Due to his encouragement, we never considered anything different.Together Mitchell and Joyce put all of their children through college and each earned a degree, something he was always proud of. Dad worked as a steelworker for 43 years at Kaiser Aluminum, in Ravenswood WV. We would like to tell you a little bit about our dad, we loved him dearly and will miss him.Our father was not a perfect man, just as no man is perfect.The balance and love our mother provided softened his hard side, but dad was also a kind man.Willing to help a neighbor or friends in need at the drop of a hat.Much to our mothers chagrin (at times), he was often fixing or building something for someone else, before he did projects awaiting him at home.That’s the way dad was, he was a skilled craftsman learning the carpentry and building trade from his brother Charles Hawkins at a very early age. Our father was a proud man, some of his accomplishments revolved around his skills of building, as he built the house that all of us kids grew up in on Parish Hill (outside of Ripley, WV).Over 5,000 SF it was designed and built by our father.He used this opportunity to teach his sons the trade and accepted help from community friends that he had assisted himself, in the past.Dad could do it all; rarely did he ever need a subcontractor or serviceman to fix something.Once he got up in age, his sons became the service and subcontractor’s to get his projects done.Dad held very high expectations on the quality of work performed; he accepted nothing less than the best.Anything worth doing was worth doing right; we learned this old adage straight from the man who could do it all. He was extremely proud of his Greek heritage, although with his father passing when he was only 10 years old; it limited his Greek language studies as a teenager.He was proud that his father had come on a ship from Karpathos, Greece as a young man to start a life in the United States.Upon settling, he brought additional family members over.His father was a businessman and restaurateur.A true highlight for dad was returning to Karpathos, Greece to see his father’s homeland and meet relatives.He also was able to connect with additional family members in New Jersey and traveled there to meet them.What a thrill this was for him. Our father was a collector and craftsman when it came to firearms.He was self-taught on how to build gun stocks, re-blue gun barrels and load ammunition.He believed in firearm safety and preached this constantly to his sons and grandchildren, there were no exceptions.He was an avid outdoorsman, who loved to hunt and fish.The companionship he enjoyed with his hunting and fishing cohorts was exceptional.Dad later spent time with fellow gun enthusiasts at regional gun shows; they were all true friends to him. Dad loved the outdoors, owning both speed and bass fishing boats over the years.He again displayed his trade skills in outfitting and upgrading the crafts.A true lover of water, we always teased him about not being able to swim.In spite of this, he was always on the water. Dad always took care to maintain a well-groomed appearance and enjoyed dressing handsomely.Living a life full of adventure, accomplishments, friends were all things he was proud of, but to him nothing was more important than family. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 pm on Friday, January 21, 2022 at Lambert-Tatman Funeral Home, Vienna with Elmer Postalwait officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery, South Charleston, WV. Visitation will be from 11 am till time of services at the funeral home. Online condolences may be made at www.lamberttatman.com.