Constantine "Gus" Vasiliadis

An Extraordinary Life Constantine George Vasiliadis aka “Gus” of Teaneck, NJ, formally Mahwah, NJ, Harrington Park, NJ, and Huntington Long Island, passed away peacefully in comfort care at Holy Name Hospital, Teaneck, on April 9, 2024 at the age of 93 with his two surviving daughters, Lisa Pella and Thera Marshall by his side. Gus Vasiliadis was a 1st generation Greek American whose parents ingrained both a work ethic and piano lessons. Those piano lessons fueled Gus’s lifelong love of music leading to piano concerts and solo performances throughout his developmental and adult years from Huntington High School to Yale where he received a Bachelor of Arts with a French & English major and a minor in music. After graduation in 1952 Gus enlisted in the United States Army and began 6 weeks of basic training where the army capitalized on his musical talent. “An unusual contrast during my basic training period was my accompanying a clarinetist in our unit from the renowned Cleavland Orchestra. We performed one of the great Brahms clarinet sonatas at an officer’s club event that was broadcast on the Fort Dix radio station,” Gus recounted to his daughters as he described the rewards and regrets of his life in the three months of his declining health. Following his basic training, Gus was transferred to serve in Korea as a Corporal with the 231st Transportation Truck Battalion. Upon the conclusion of hostilities he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and assigned to manage the battalion’s twelve Non-Commissioned Officer’s Clubs where he hosted and befriended such USO favorites as Bill Daily, Marion Anderson and Marilyn Monroe. “This was a position of influence with bartering privileges on military stock that enabled us to reconstruct war damaged schools and civic buildings in the villages north of Seoul where our battalion was based. We enjoyed a sampling of village politics and culture in our work with the local community,” Gus recalled. After the war Gus attended the Juilliard School of Music after which he joined Columbia Artists to manage Community Concerts. In 1958 Gus took a position with Brooklyn Academy of Music, married Therissa Elliott, mother of the surviving daughters, and moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn. 1962 Gus was tapped by the president of Lincoln Center, to join the executive team for education and development. Other vocational and board memberships included the North Jersey Cultural Council and the Long Island Philharmonic. Following the tragic death of his youngest daughter Irene Vasiliadis in 1981 from Long QT Syndrome, and the dissolution of his first 23-year marriage to Therissa, Gus consolidated his skills and life experience to focus on spreading his love of the arts as an independent development consultant for non-profits in theater, music and education. In 1982 Gus married the recently widowed Susan Stewart, Managing Director of the Pro Arte Chorale on whose board Gus had been serving. Gus and Susan led a fulfilling life in their Mahwah home overlooking the Ramapo Mountains with a cat, a German Shepard and two Steinway grand pianos in living room space big enough to hold public benefit concerts. Susan passed away in 2017 after a slow decline with dementia during which time Gus was an attentive caregiver. Over the course of Gus’s long life he formed many fans and friends through his volunteer and board work which included, but was not limited to, the Hackensack University Medical Center Pet Therapy Program with his beloved series of German Shepards (seven sequentially), the Mahwah NY/NJ Trail Conference, The Pro Arte Chorale, and his long tenure as organist, until the age of 81, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Hillsdale, NJ. This week Gus’s eldest daughter Thera Marshall reflected, “I didn’t know, until I began receiving RSVPs to his memorial service, just how many people from so many walks of life were so fondly influenced by my father. It seemed like each person on Dad’s personally pre-death prepared guest email list claimed in their reply, “He was my best friend”. Friends and family are invited for memorial visitation on Sunday, April 21st from 12:00 pm to 03:00 pm at Volk Leber Funeral Home, 789 Teaneck Road, Teaneck, NJ. A memorial service will begin at 01:00 pm in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, and with his family’s gratitude, please make a donation in Gus’s name to the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference: https://trailconference.org/. For further information and to view Gus’s tribute page, please visit volkleber.com