Demetrios D. Raftopoulos

Demetrios D. (Spero) Raftopoulos, 90, died Sunday, June 5, 2016 at Spring Hills Assisted Living Facility in Lake Mary, Florida. He was preceded by his sister Penelope Metaxas (2016), his beloved wife, Eugenia (Jean) Raftopoulos (2016) and his son Dionysios (1977). He is survived by his son, Michaeljohn, and his niece, Eleni Raser. Born and raised in Argostoli, Kefalonia, the son of Dionysios and Marioleni Raftopoulos, he immigrated to the United States in 1953. He graduated with a Bachelor degree from Widener University in 1959, a Master’s degree from the University of Delaware in 1963 and PhD from Penn State University in 1966. He led a long and distinguished career as a researcher and professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering at the University of Toledo, in Toledo, Ohio, lecturing internationally at universities throughout the United States, Greece and Asia. He and his wife retired to Lake Mary, Florida, in the year 2000. Aside from numerous awards and accomplishments during his academic career, Dr. Raftopoulos helped to establish a motel business in Atlantic City and undertook multiple building projects in Greece. He was a licensed engineer in both the United States and Greece. He will always be remembered for his honesty, integrity, ambition and work ethic. A funeral service will be held at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, June 15. A burial service will take place in Toledo, Ohio at 1:00pm on Friday, June 17, at the Toledo Memorial Park and Cemetery.