Demosthenes W. Lecos, 71, founded Pappy's restaurants
Demosthenes W. Lecos, former marketing director for a manufacturer of Greek specialties and president and chief executive officer of Billjohn Corp., died Sunday of a heart attack at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly. He was 71 and a resident of Falls Church, Va.
Mr. Lecos, who was known as Dan, founded Billjohn in 1968. He sold the business -- which operated the Pappy's restaurant chain in Baltimore, Columbia, Manassas, Va., and Atlanta -- in 1985.
From 1985 until retiring in 1998, he was East Coast marketing director for Grecian Delight Foods of Chicago.
Born in Butte, Mont., Mr. Lecos moved to Chicago, where he graduated from high school. He served in the Marine Corps from 1954 to 1957.
Mr. Lecos earned his bachelor's degree from DePaul University and a master's degree in business from the University of Chicago in 1959. He moved to Washington in 1960 as an operations manager for McDonald's, overseeing restaurants from Annapolis to Fredericksburg, Va. He left the company in 1968 and established Pappy's.
Services will be held at 9 a.m. Friday at St. Katherine's Greek Orthodox Church in Falls Church.
Mr. Lecos is survived by his wife of 46 years, the former Mary Anne Regan; a son, William D. Lecos of Falls Church; six daughters, Diane Samuels of Leesburg, Va., Elaine Diehl of Fort Monroe, Va., Mary Aunon of Burke, Va., Joan Burch of McLean, Va., Anne Stauch of Virginia Beach, Va., and Katherine Mary Lecos of Fairfax, Va.; a brother, Jimmy Lecos of Lockport, Ill.; and 12 grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Annandale Christian Community for Action, 7200 Columbia Pike, Annandale, Va. 22003.
Jesse L. Adams, 86, developer, philanthropist
Jesse L. Adams, a semiretired developer and philanthropist, died in his sleep Friday at Oak Crest Village retirement community in Parkville. He was 86 and a former longtime resident of Pendennis Mount near Annapolis.
Mr. Adams was founder in the 1950s and former president of Annapolis-based Terrace Gardens Building Corp., a well-known Anne Arundel County development company. He was also founder and past president of Adams Enterprises, and a director of Farmers National Bank of Maryland from 1961 to 1994.
He was founder and chairman of the Hertha and Jesse Adams Foundation, a nonprofit charitable endeavor. His philanthropic interests included Shriners children's hospitals, the National Federation of the Blind and Providence Center Inc., an Anne Arundel-based organization that assists mentally challenged adults.
Mr. Adams was born in Crisfield and raised in Baltimore, where he had a public school education.
He was a former member of the Annapolis Yacht Club and had been a big-game hunter and world traveler. He was a member of Pythagoras Lodge No. 123 of the Masons, the Scottish Rite and Boumi Temple, and Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore.
Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at the Oak Crest Village chapel, 8800 Walther Blvd.
Surviving are his wife of 60 years, the former Hertha Sur; and his close friends and caregivers Bob and Nancy Wolfe of Annapolis, and Carl and Carole Brudin of Highland.
Georgia B. Zissimos, 72, chef, restaurant owner
Georgia B. Zissimos, a chef who was known for her expertise with Greek specialties, died Saturday of a heart attack at her Glen Burnie home. She was 72.
Mrs. Zissimos and her husband of 38 years, Gus Zissimos, owned and operated Seemer's Restaurant, Gus' Restaurant and Meadow Brook Restaurant, all in Baltimore, where she had been chef. The couple sold the restaurants in the 1980s.
Though retired, Mrs. Zissimos enjoyed preparing Greek dishes and entertaining family and friends. She also was an avid vegetable and flower gardener.
Georgia Christopoulos was born and raised in Patras, Greece, where she graduated from high school. In 1961, she emigrated to Baltimore.
Mrs. Zissimos was a communicant of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, at Maryland Avenue and Preston Street, where she was an active member of the Philoptohos Society. Services will be held there at 10 a.m. today.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Kathryn Z. Taffe of Catonsville and JoAnn Zissimos of Lutherville; a brother, Christo Christopoulos of Crofton; and a sister, Kassiane Skafidas of Patras.
Michail Dolinskij, 82, Coast Guard Yard machinist
Michail Dolinskij, a retired machinist, died Friday of a stroke at St. Agnes HealthCare. The Pasadena resident was 82.
Mr. Dolinskij, a Russian immigrant who moved to Baltimore from Belgium in 1954, had lived for many years in Lansdowne. He retired in 1985 from the U.S. Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, where he had worked as a machinist for 18 years.
Earlier, he had been a machinist for Koppers Co. and a baker for Bond Bread.
He was born and raised in Yaroslavl, Russia, where he graduated from high school and an engineering trade school.
Mr. Dolinskij was an avid gardener and enjoyed watching soccer, playing chess and reading.
