It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, & great-grandfather Michael Zographos on 9th July 2021. He leaves behind his wife Chloe, daughter Christina, grandchildren Maria, Chloe, Angela, Rebecca & Dimitri and his 6 great grandchildren.

Obituary

Michael Zographos 19/1/1936 – 9/7/2021

Place of Birth: Assia, Cyprus

Married to Chloe from Moutooullas.

Children: Christina & Maria

School/College: Samuel Commercial School, Nicosia

Family: Michael was one of 8 siblings, he was the only one who came to England to pursue his ambition of becoming a solicitor.

When he left Samuels School in Nicosia, he got his first job in a solicitors office. He worked in numerous legal offices & as a sideline he would help people apply for their passports.

He also loved playing football and belonged to Omonia.

Michael worked for the solicitor Georgallis, and when they decided to emigrate to England in 1958 he came with them.

Once in London Michael had many jobs to make ends meet. He helped out at the Greek paper, and he worked in a restaurant as a waiter. In the evenings he went to night school to improve his English, & eventually continued with his studies for law.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t make ends meet so had to give up his studies and got a job at Kentons selling furniture.

He met Chloe in 1961 and they got married in January 1962.

In October 1966 he took over Zeno Bookshop which had originally been run by the Rev Kykkotis, mum’s uncle from 1944. This fulfilled Kykkotis’ dream that the bookshop should stay in the family. The shop flourished under Michael’s guidance and in 1971 they published their first book ‘History of the Greek Revolution’ by George Finley.

The bookshop became a hub for the Greek & Cypriot communities, many of whom lived or worked in and around the West End. It was also known around the world as the place to go for any book on Cyprus, Greece, the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire & the Middle East in Greek and English, modern or antiquarian. Their mailing list was extensive, supplying many of the great universities and libraries around the world.

Michael always worked hard, it wasn’t work for him, it was a pleasure for him to help & support his community. As his English was so good, he was often asked to help people with e.g. translating, or letter writing, or help with their banking. He always wanted to make a difference.

Michael served on the committee for the Academy Social Club, he was treasurer of the Ashiotes Association for 9 years, then their Chairman for 4 years, then Chairman of St. Katherine’s Greek Orthodox Church for 3 years.

In 2010 Michael sadly lost his daughter Maria who passed away at the age of 44.

A funeral service will take place at 1pm on Friday 23rd July 2021 at St. Katherine’s Church, Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0NL.

As Covid restrictions have only just been lifted, all those wishing to pay their respects are welcome to join us at 2.30pm at New Southgate Cemetery, Brunswick Park Road N11 1JJ, where the wake will take place. For those wishing to make a donation, we are setting up a Just Giving page as well as a donation box at the church & cemetery to raise money for St. Katherine’s Church where Michael was a committee member for many years.  www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michaelzographos

Μιχάλης Ζωγράφου

(από Άσσια, Κύπρος)

Με μεγάλη λύπη ανακοινώνουμε τον θάνατο του αγαπημένου μας συζύγου, πατέρα, παππού και προπάππου Μιχάλη

Ζωγράφου, ο οποίος απεβίωσε στις 9 Ιουλίου 2021. Αφήνει πίσω τη σύζυγό του Χλόη, κόρη Χριστίνα, τα εγγόνια του Μαρία, Χλόη, Άντζελα, Ρεβέκκα, Δημήτρη και έξι μεγάλα δισέγγονα. Ο Μιχάλης γεννήθηκε και μεγάλωσε στην Άσσια της Κύπρου. Ήρθε στην Αγγλία το 1959 και μέσα σε λίγα χρόνια γνώρισε και παντρεύτηκε τη σύζυγό του Χλόη και μαζί απέκτησαν 2 κόρες. Ο Μιχάλης ήταν ο ιδιοκτήτης του Ελληνικού Βιβλιοπωλείου Zeno στην Denmark Street. Το Zeno Booksellers & Michael έγινε γνωστό στην κυπριακή και ελληνική κοινότητα. Κατάφερε μέσα σε ένα μικρό χρονικό διάστημα να γίνει γνωστός σε κοινοτικούς συλλόγους και στην εκκλησία, προσπαθώντας πάντα να κάνει το καλύτερο για όλους έχοντας πάντα στο μυαλό του από πού ξεκίνησε.

Το Zeno Bookshop δεν ήταν μόνο μια επιχείρηση για αυτόν, αλλά η αγάπη του και το πάθος του για τα βιβλία και τον λογοτεχνικό κόσμο, όπου μέσα σε αυτά τα 45 χρόνια δεν έπαψε στιγμή να  βρίσκεται εκεί μέχρι την τελευταία ημέρα…  Ωστόσο, η μεγαλύτερη περηφάνια του ήταν η οικογένειά του. Ήταν πάντα εκεί για όλους μας, ήσυχος, δυνατός και πάντα δίπλα να διασφαλίζοντας ότι ήμασταν καλά.  Θα μας λείψει πολύ. Η κηδεία θα τελεσθεί στη 13:00 την Παρασκευή 23 Ιουλίου 2021 στην εκκλησία της Αγίας Αικατερίνης, Friern Barnet Lane,N20 0NL. Οι περιορισμοί κατά του Covid-19 έχουν αρθεί και όσοι επιθυμούν να τιμήσουν την μνήμη του είναι ευπρόσδεκτοι να παραβρεθούν στις 2.30 μ.μ. στο κοιμητήριο New Southgate, Brunswick Park Road N11 1JJ, όπου θα γίνει η παρηγοριά.  Για όσους επιθυμούν να κάνουν δωρεά, δημιουργήσαμε μια σελίδα στο Just Giving καθώς και ένα κουτί δωρεών το οποίο θα βρίσκεται στην εκκλησία και στο κοιμητήριο.  Όσα χρήματα συγκεντρωθούν θα δοθούν στην εκκλησία της Αγίας Αικατερίνης, όπου ο Μιχάλης ήταν ενεργό μέλος της επιτροπής για πολλά χρόνια. Σύνδεσμος για το Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michaelzographos 

Parikiaki extend their condolences to the family

One Response to We sadly announce that UK Cypriot Michael Zographos has passed away

  1. Kyriakos Mastris says:

    RiP condolences to the family . Zeno bookshop is where i got the greek paper for my parents .who live nearby

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