Honoring Peter Petropoulos & Uplifting His Family

Peter's positive energy, genuine love for life, compassion for others and charismatic smile are only some of the amazing qualities he possessed, and it was a blessing to have him in our lives. There is no one who could ever take his place or bring light to us quite like he could, which makes it hard to fathom this is all a reality. 

 

But in true Peter fashion, he was the ultimate warrior and fought to stay with his family and friends for as long as possible while being faced with his most difficult battle. While we selfishly would have loved to keep Peter with us here on earth, on September 9, the Lord gave Peter his wings and called him home. Our whole family is heartbroken to lose such an incredible light in our lives, and we know that same devastation is felt by every single individual who ever had the pleasure of meeting him, or even just seeing the happiness he brought to others.

"God saw you getting tired, when a cure was not to be. So He wrapped his arms around you and He whispered, 'Come to me.' You didn't deserve what you went through, so He gave you needed rest. God's garden must beautiful, He only takes the best." 

The outpouring of the love from family, friends and community that surround Peter and the entire Petropoulos family have been overwhelming (in a great way!), and I hope to keep that loving spirit going through the positive words and donations on this GoFundMe page.

 

Now we come together to support the Petropoulos family. If you have the means, please consider helping with the financial burden to help their family move forward and leave a note of support to show how Peter touched your life. Peter's priority was to see that his girls were always taken care of, and I know Peter is watching down and at peace knowing that there is a community surrounding his girls and his family that can help continue providing that care, love and support they deserve.

As we all come together to honor Peter - loving father, husband, son, brother, neighbor, boss, racer - please read some loving words from family and friends to reflect on some of the wonderful ways he will be remembered and has created a beautiful legacy: 

From Peter's Wife, Michelle: My husband is amazing! He fought so hard to get back to his family from the moment he was admitted into the hospital. He was always thanking the nurses and doctors for working so hard. He never complained about being in pain, even when it was clear he was. He kept a positive attitude, and would always say to the doctor, “just tell me what I gotta do to get back to my family!”

I am beyond blessed to have had Peter as a husband. He always showed me he loved me, whether it was walking through the door after work to give me a kiss, surprising me with flowers, impromptu date nights, or texting me at least a couple times a day just to tell me he loved me. It truly was the simple things with Peter I enjoyed the most. He was always so proud of me, whether it was my prior racing career or it was me working now as a real estate agent. He always bragged on his wife, and it was just another way he showed me how much he loved me. He blessed me with two step daughters, and I’ll forever be grateful to him for making me a mom.

Peter was a dedicated father, who would drive halfway across the state just to make it to something for the girls. He would never complain how many hours it took to get there, because it was important to him that they just knew he was there for them. He would constantly tell the girls how beautiful they were. He would blow them kisses from across a room. He made sure they knew Daddy loved them so much. He truly was the best Daddy I know, and I remind the girls each day how blessed they are to have a Daddy like him! I will continue to remind them of that, because they truly were so lucky to have known a love like his.

From Peter's sister, Gloria: What beautiful memories flood my heart. Peter was genuine and salt of the earth. People thought we were twins and we were definitely TWO PEAS IN A POD! He was one of my best friends and always had my back. He protected me and has always been there for me, I have lost one of my best friends abs I’m absolutely heartbroken.

Peter is no longer suffering. I say this with complete peace even though it’s terribly hard on my broken heart to share this tragic news. My brother Peter lived his beautiful life full throttle and his family was everything to him. He loved his two girls more than life itself and fought to stay alive till the very end for all his family. He was awesome and if you met him you saw the light and love in his eyes....

Ohhh what a beautiful thought to know he is now watching over his wife, 2 girls and all our entire family. I truly have received so many gifts and signs from Peter while he was sick and especially now after his passing... 

I love you Peter. You were as sweet as this bowl of fruit and such a lover; not a hater. I know you are watching over me now and still protecting me. You will always be one of my best friends and I will miss you immensely." 

From Peter's Friends, Family and Clients:

"What beautiful memories flood our hearts. Peter was genuine and salt of the earth. He loved his two girls more than life itself and fought to stay alive till the very end for all his family. He is no longer suffering. I say this with complete peace even though it’s terribly hard on my broken heart to share this tragic news. My brother Peter lived his beautiful life full throttle and his family was everything to him. He was awesome and if you met him you saw the light and love in his eyes. It’s terrible to know this evil disease covid took him from us at the young age of only 43 years old. I will keep choosing to believe God needed him more than we did and in his final days and hours he did not suffer because Jesus was carrying him." 

"You were one of those special people that it was always good to see when I ran into you. Always such a great person, man, friend, father, husband, son, brother, racer. You always had a positive attitude and outlook on everything. You lifted people up. I’m proud to have been able to call you my friend. Everyone around you is better for having known you." 

"You had so many great qualities that you didn’t even know you had. You always treated everyone with the utmost respect, you were so caring, selfless and above all a great family man. Family fun was always a priority for you regardless of the ultimate destination. I feel honored to have met you and be able to call you my friend. Heaven gained a great man today."

"I will miss but cherish the time I had with Peter Petropoulos II. Peter was highly successful in all that he did. He aimed to always be the best. The Best Father, The Best Husband, the Best Friend, Racer and Business man. He was highly successful in all of the above! The thing I admired most about Peter was his humbleness. My phone would ring, 5 minutes later he’s standing in my shop asking for advice. Not always Racecar advise , but he would ask my perspective on raising teenagers, business strategies. He was never too big to ask for help even though he was well accomplished."

"Boss man Thank you for everything, you were the first person who helped me when I got to this country and showed me how to work and now everything I’ve accomplished is thanks to you! We’ll see each other again another day"

"Peter did a pretty big job for us a year ago when we built our pool. He always wore that cheer Dad shirt and bragged about his girls. Please share with them that he was always so proud."

"Enjoyed all the years of your friendship. Man if we could go back in time to the days we were all teenagers running around at Shilo, Athens, and Carnsville chasing one another seeing who could be fast then fast forward to 14 years later being able to team up and having some good runs together man those were the days and I wouldn't change a thing I'd do it all over again."

"You were just the most positive, happy, outgoing person I had ever met. Your energy lit up any space you would enter. Every time I spoke to you you were just so positive and so proud of your family, and my husband always shared with me your talks y’all had about all your future dreams you had. May God comfort your beautiful wife and girls. We have truly missed seeing you pass by daily on your way in and out to work. We will always miss seeing your smiling face. Heaven has truly gained a powerful angel."

"If anybody I know on this planet deserved the entry to heaven, it is you my friend. You are the most genuine, caring, and devoted person I know. I've learned a lot from you over the years, and have cherished our friendship since it began."