Known for his mustache and kind heart, Constantinos Giannoulas, was born and raised in Athens, Greece. There he met his wife and his absolute favorite person, Spyridoula Giannoulas. He loved being a police officer in Greece, however due to political corruption, he lost his job. He had to find work to support his family and the only corruption-free place that came to his mind was America. He packed his bags and left behind most of his life, except for his komboloi and joined the rest of the Greek-American community in Astoria, Queens. There, he began working as a painter, which did not work out for him, since droplets of paint would stain his well-kept mustache. Soon after, he swapped his painting brush for cartons of fruits and vegetables to restock grocery store shelves for the next twenty years. In the meantime, he was able to bring Spyridoula and his three kids to America and put them through high school and college. His children continue to live in the United States to this day where they are now raising their families in Astoria, Flushing and Brooklyn.

In loving memory of my grandfather who passed away on 4/16/17.

– Kiriaki Giannoulas

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant