Van Simopoulos of Peabody died peacefully at home on September 27, 2026 with his family around him. He was 91.
He was born on March 9, 1935 in Salonica, Greece to George and Anastasia (Athanasiou) Simopoulos, raised by his uncle Andreas and sent as a teenager to live in America with his aunt Antonia and her husband John. The day after he arrived in Lynn he met Joanne, a friendship that became more than 70 years together and 70 years of marriage. He served in the Army, worked as a foreman at the Benjamin Schwartz Shoe Factory, ran Becky’s Restaurant with Joanne and turned his love of building into VS Carpentry, which he ran until he retired. He kept what his family believes was the most meticulously organized tool collection anywhere, watched war movies, held court with his Greek friends at the mall, newspaper in hand, as the “King of the Mall,” clipped the funnies to share and ended nearly every phone call with “I love you.”
He leaves his wife, Joanne, of Peabody; his granddaughter, Tricia, and her husband Jeff of Lynn; his grandsons, Robert and his girlfriend Nicole of Kenmore, Wash., and Michael and his wife Alandra of Peabody; his brother, Aristides, and his wife Carmen of Malden; his sister-in-law, Antoinette, and her husband Louie of Salem; his brother-in-law, Charlie, and his wife Eileen of Peabody; his friend and caregiver Noel; and many in-laws and friends. His daughters, Anne, Mary and Elaine, his parents, two brothers including his twin, and his brother-in-law Arthur died before him.
Visitation is Tuesday, October 13 from 10 to 11 a.m. at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, Lynn, followed by an 11 a.m. funeral service and burial at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Peabody. Arrangements are by the Solimine Funeral Home, Lynn.
Compiled from information published by Solimine Funeral Homes. Photograph courtesy of the family via Solimine Funeral Homes. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
