Theodore, D D S SKOKOS

Theodore
July 11, 1920 - January 5, 2017

Dr Theodore Skokos passed away Thursday, January 5, 2017 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Angela Menedes and Sarantos (Sering) Skokos on July 11, 1920. He would say 7/11 was a lucky day. At age 11 his family moved to the famous seaside resort of Asbury Park, New Jersey, where his father opened a bustling hamburger joint across the street from the boardwalk. He attended Washington and Jefferson College on a basketball scholarship and graduated from the University of Pennsyl- vania Dental School in Philadelphia, where Betty was a Navy officer decoding messages. After meeting at a soda fountain, they went for one dance at a Nickelodeon, and she knew he was the one for her. Their marriage in 1945 was blessed by the Archbishop Athenagoras, who had come to Asbury Park to conduct Ted's father's funeral. Athenagoras would later become the Archbishop of Instanbul, supreme in the Greek Orthodox Church.
After being stationed in postwar Germany as a captain in the Army, Ted and Betty moved to Fort Smith, across the river from her hometown of Van Buren, Arkansas where they raised five children. He practiced dentistry for fifty years. Ted became very active in the community, serving as school board president, and most proudly, founding and leading the Church League baseball program, now with eight ballfields (the second of which was named in his honor), and participation of over a thousand children a year. He received Fort Smith's most prestigious honor, the annual Golden Deeds award of the local Exchange Club. Like the town's ambassador, Ted served as marshal on the 18th green, during the ten years of the local Nationwide PGA tour event. He delighted children for years playing Santa Claus at the Boys' Club, and he enter- tained crowds as referee of Harlem Magicians basketball games. This led to his appearing on a nationwide telecast of ABC's Wide World of Sports. Remarkably, he nailed a 30-foot shot live, after having been unable to sink a single one in pre-game taping. The camera crew followed him backing down the court, a novel reaction shot for that time, as he grinned ear-to-ear in disbelief. Over the years he would book numerous marquee names of the big band era for the Fort Smith Cotillion dance club, among them Glenn Miller, Stan Kenton and Count Basie. Ted was preceded in death by his wife Jennie Elizabeth "Betty" Campbell Skokos last March; and by his brother George of Asbury Park, sister Connie of Huntsville, Alabama, and brother Pete of Freehold, New Jersey. He is survived by five children, Ted C Skokos and wife Shannon of Dallas,Texas; Leslie Cange and husband Bill of Greers Ferry, Arkansas; Dr Kemp Skokos and wife Tawnya of Little Rock, Arkansas; Doug Skokos of Fort Smith, Arkansas and Stacia "Shuggie" Peebles and husband Brent of Decatur, Alabama; 10 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.
Active pall bearers were Teddy Skokos, Jacob and King Williams, Scott Wilmoth, Campbell and Greyson Skokos, Jonathan and Samuel Winstead, and Robert Taylor. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Aldersgate Sunday school class.

Jennie
ENSIGN US Navy Waves
World War II
August 19, 1921 - Marcb 14, 2016

Jennie Elizabeth "Betty" Campbell Skokos passed away Monday, March 14. 2016 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She was born August 17, 1921 in Van Buren, Arkansas to Frank Leslie Campbell, Sr and Mamie Lorena Paine Campbell (affectionately known to her grandchildren as "Mama Lora". She was preceded in death by brothers, Robert Paine Campbell, Sr of Muskogee, Oklahoma and Frank Leslie Campbell, Jr of Dallas, Texas. She graduated from Van Buren High School in 1939, winning first place in piano competitions at the local district levels, and becoming state champion her senior year. She taught public school music in DeQueen, Arkansas for two years, before receiving her BS from the University of Oklahoma. Later in life she got an MS with a specialty in reading from the University of Arkansas, and taught for two years in Van Buren. She served as a naval officer in the WAVES (women accepted for voluntary emergency service). She received officer training at Smith College in North Hampton, Massachusetts and specialized training in communications at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.

As an ensign in the Navy, her first assignment was to Philadelphia naval base in the classified section of communications (i.e. code room). She said, "We were the first to know the good news and, unfortunately, the first to know the bad news." They had pistol practice once a week. Since the admiral's office was downtown Philadelphia, it was necessary to guard the message en route to his office. "Pistol Packin' Mama" was number one on the "Hit Parade," so the officer often had a chorus singing to her on the subway. It was in Philadelphia that she met and married her husband, Dr Ted Skokos, who was in his last year at the University oF Pennsylvania Dental School.She was a trendsetter, achieving notoriety in newspaper cover stories, for salvaging architectural pieces from stately homes being demolished and incorporating them into her own.In Fort Smith she served as president of the Park Hill Garden Club, vice president of Junior Civic League, vice chairman and rodeo chairman of Sparks Guild, on the Board of Stewards at First United Methodist Church and playing piano as a member of the Aldersgate Sunday school class past her 93rd birthday, president of PEO Sisterhood, Chapter AS, vice president of the Women's Society of Christian Service, president of the Fort Smith Dental Auxiliary, president of Northwest Arkansas Dental Auxiliary, and the elected Arkansas State Delegate to the National convention of Dental Auxiliaries in New York City, and she was active in numerous other civic organizations.

She is survived by her husband Dr Ted Skokos: and five children Ted C Skokos and wife Shannon of Dallas, Texas, Leslie Cange and husband Bill of Greers Ferry, Arkansas, Dr Kemp Skokos and wife Tawnya of Little Rock, Arkansas, Doug Skokos of Fort Smith, and Stacia "Shuggie" Peebles and husband Brent of Decatur, Alabama; 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Contributed on 5/3/19 by billsully060
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Record #: 1267995

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